


Of Bulls and Barrels

by TotallySpacedOut



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Akaashi is Oikawa's bestie, Alternate Universe - Farm/Ranch, Barrel Racer Oikawa Tooru, Barrel racing, Bull Rider Iwaizumi Hajime, Bull Riding, F/F, Horses, Iwaizumi is a bull rider, Iwaizumi is cocky, Kuroo Tetsurou is a Good Friend, M/M, Oikawa barrel races, Oikawa falls fast, Oikawa loves his horses, Rodeo AU, Rodeo Competitions, The boys are hella gay, They litterally are gays on horses
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-19
Updated: 2020-09-02
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:54:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 35,978
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24809605
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TotallySpacedOut/pseuds/TotallySpacedOut
Summary: “Oikawa Tooru. It’s a pleasure to meet-”“You're a barrel racer? Is it true you're all super bitchy and rude?” Iwaizumi cut Oikawa off.“You’re a bull rider. Is it true that all bull riders have small dicks? You probably only ride bulls to compensate for what you don’t have.”OrOikawa Tooru is a barrel racer. Iwaizumi Hajime is a bull rider. The Miyagi Rodeo Circuit is hosting it's first annual Team Roping Challenge. They both want to win but they can't do it alone.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou, Haiba Lev/Yaku Morisuke, Hanamaki Takahiro/Matsukawa Issei, Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio, Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru, Kindaichi Yuutarou/Kunimi Akira, Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou, Kyoutani Kentarou/Yahaba Shigeru, Sawamura Daichi/Sugawara Koushi, Semi Eita/Shirabu Kenjirou, Shimizu Kiyoko/Yachi Hitoka, Tendou Satori/Ushijima Wakatoshi
Comments: 60
Kudos: 113





	1. What are you compensating for?

**Author's Note:**

> Not all of this will be accurate to what real rodeo's are like.I have family that participated in Rodeo's and I get information from them, please don't hate me for being inaccurate if i'm wrong. I have been spending a lot of time googling and researching stuff to make it as close as possible. 
> 
> I'm honestly doing this for self pleasure. I haven't stopped thinking about Barrel Racer Oikawa and Bull Rider Iwaizumi for a few weeks so this is just me using writing as an outlet. 
> 
> Thanks!

Oikawa felt a grin creep up his face as the crowd whooped and hollered, cheering his name as he and his horse crossed over the line, finishing their barrel run with a grand total of 14.02 seconds. He’s the fastest run today. He won. 

He always won, so he wasn’t sure why it came as a shock to him. 

“And that was the last barrel run of the night. Give it up for Oikawa Tooru and Cosmo! Now, while we have a brief intermission between-” The announcers died in Oikawa’s ears as he threw his leg up and over his saddle, sliding down his horses side, landing on the dirt just outside the rodeo arena with a thud. 

“Great run tonight, Oikawa-san!” Kindiachi, a bull rider, called out to Oikawa. Oikawa smiled at the young bull rider and grabbed Cosmo’s reins. 

“Ah, thank you Kindaichi-chan! Good luck on your bull tonight! Don’t die!” Oikawa said, throwing up his free hand in a peace sign before walking completely out of the rodeo arena and towards his horse trailer where his nephew and sister were waiting for him. 

“You did awesome uncle Tooru! You totally smoked all those other barrel racers! Cosmo was so cool!” Oikawa smiled as Takeru began speaking excitedly, patting Cosmo on the nose in praise. Takeru’s mother, Oikawa’s sister, Seki laughed and ran her hand down Cosmo’s neck, scratching slightly in his favorite spot under his mane. 

“You did great tonight Tooru. We just wanted to come congratulate you before we go watch Takeru’s favorite part of the rodeo,” Oikawa smiled and nodded. Takeru did love barrel racing, but he always loved Bull Riding more. It was understandable really, it was fascinating how dumb and reckless it was. 

“Thanks for coming to watch! I’ll try and catch up with you later, okay?” Oikawa said and Seki nodded, congratulating him once more before taking Takeru’s hand and guiding the kid back towards the arena. 

Oikawa sighed and smiled, resting his hand under Cosmo’s cheek. He rubbed gently with his thumb and placed his forehead against his partners, taking a moment to breath in sync. 

A weird habit he had after a run. He felt the need to show Cosmo they were in it together, even though he wasn’t sure Cosmo cared all that much. 

“You did splendid today, Cosmo. I’m so proud of you,” Oikawa whispered against his horse's nose right before placing a light kiss where he spoke. Cosmo snorted and bobbed his head and Oikawa pulled away, reaching to grab Cosmo’s turquoise halter from where it was hanging on the side of his trailer. 

He took the bit out of Cosmo’s mouth and then threw his arm over his horse's neck, unlatching the bridle and replacing it with the halter. He then clipped a lead rope to the bottom of the halter and tied Cosmo to the side of the trailer so he couldn’t wander off while Tooru took care of a few things. 

“Oikawa!” The barrel racer turned around as his name was called. “Hey, great job tonight, dude.” Kuroo Tetsurou approached him. He smiled and nodded at the bull rider. 

“Thank you Tetsu-chan! I didn’t know I had so many bull riding fans! Maybe I should start watching bull riding,” Oikawa hummed in consideration. He normally didn’t watch the bull riders because they were right after barrel racing and he needed to take care of Cosmo before anything else. 

“Yeah, you should. If you want, I can help you take care of…” Kuroo glanced at the horse next to him and then to Oikawa. 

“Cosmo,” Oikawa offered. 

“Right! If you want, I can help with Cosmo and then we can go watch the bull riders together?” Kuroo asked and Oikawa tilted his head to the side in confusion, staring up at Kuroo. 

“Um… That’d be great, Tetsu-chan, but don’t you need to go get ready? You’re a bull rider?” Kuroo’s smile fell and he glanced down at his feet. “Or, never mind! Never mind! Help with Cosmo would be-” 

“I got hurt yesterday on my run and I promised Kenma I’d rest for a few days. I’m out until next week. It’s nothing too serious but I pulled something in my shoulder and it hurts to move too much,” Kuroo explained, cutting Oikawa off. The brunette nodded. “But yeah1 Let me help brush Cosmo so we can go watch everyone!” 

Oikawa wasn’t sure who “everyone” was. He didn’t watch the Bull Riding and he only knew who a few of them were, like Kuroo, Kindiachi, Bokuto and a little ginger boy named Hinata that had seemingly come out of nowhere and was slowly becoming a very good and talented rider. 

“Sure, right!” Oikawa instructed Kuroo to go grab Cosmo’s brush bag from the tack room at the back of his trailer and he began to unsaddle the Palomino. 

“This the right bag?” Kuroo asked, popping his head from around the back of the trailer. He held up a turquoise brush bag and Oikawa nodded. 

“Sure is. Why don’t you brush his mane and tail while I put his tack away.” Oikawa unclipped Cosmo’s breast collar and looped it over the horn of his saddle before un-doing the cinch and back billet straps and sliding the saddle off of Cosmo’s back. 

He put both his saddle and saddle pad away before walking back over to Kuroo and Cosmo and finishing up the brushing so they could go watch the bull riders. 

“Who do you think is going to be tonight's Bull Riding champ?” Oikawa asked as he walked Cosmo to his outdoor stall. He shut the gate after making sure there was fresh water and hay for him and then he and Kuroo were off towards the arena. 

“Honestly?” Kuroo asked. Oikawa nodded. “I think it’ll be Iwaizumi.” Oikawa’s brows furrowed at the name. 

“Never heard of him,” Oikawa stated as they passed the security who cleared them with no problems. They sat down in a box seat near the front of the arena seats. Akaashi and Kenma were already sitting in the box with Suga and Asahi. Suga turned and waved with a bright smile when they sat down and Kuroo waved back. Oikawa smiled but otherwise ignored them. 

“You’ve never heard of Iwaizumi? Dude, you need to get out of your little barrel bubble.” Oikawa shot Kuroo a glare but settled back into his seat, watching as Tanaka and Nishinoya put on a little show. Honestly, Rodeo Clown was the perfect job for the two. They played the part flawlessly and they were hilarious to watch. 

“I know you… and a few other bull riders. I don’t know what you expect from me, Tetsu-chan. I need to stay focused on my event. Not other peoples. If I get distracted, then that little shithead Tobio-chan will steal my spotlight. We can’t have that.” Oikawa’s eyes darkened at the thought of the younger barrel racer beating him and becoming number one. 

Kuroo watched him cautiously but shrugged and leaned back in his chair next to him. Kenma stood up from next to Akaashi and made his way over, saying a brief hello to Oikawa before whispering something in Kuroo’s ear. Oikawa eyed the two.

“Shit, alright. I gotta go, Oikawa. Be back soon, alright? They’re having a problem down with the bull, Mr. Moony,” Oikawa rolled his eyes at the bulls name but nodded, then Kuroo stood up and he and Kenma left, along with Akaashi. 

Oikawa gazed out over the dusty arena and noticed that it was a full crowd today, almost no empty seats. All eyes were on the center of the arena, where Sawamura Daichi, the announcer, was sitting on his horse, a stunning black mare. He was speaking. 

“Alright, so we have a little bit of a tradition with the Miyagi Rodeo Circuit. Every year, we have a Rodeo Queen and a Rodeo Princess,” The crowd cheered and Shimizu Kiyoko came riding out on her stunning blue roan gelding. 

Kiyoko wore dark blue jeans, a black long sleeve western shirt with gems on its shoulders and a black felt cowboy hat with a tiara on it. She was beautiful and Oikawa felt that if he wasn’t exclusively attracted to men, he might have a crush on her. 

Kiyoko rode towards and stopped next to Daichi who smiled at her. 

“This year, our Rodeo Queen is Miss Shimizu Kiyoko! A long time participant of the Miyagi Rodeo Circuit. She’s been our one and only female bronc rider for going on five years now and she puts up one hell of a fight for the guys fighting for the bronc riding champion title,” everyone in the crowd laughed and Daichi smiled. “She's kind and considerate and there is no one I trust more with this than her, so, without further ado, give it up for Rodeo Queen Shimizu Kiyoko!” 

Oikawa clapped along with everyone else and the wireless handheld mic was handed to the pretty woman. She smiled and waved at everyone and the crowd grew louder. 

“Thank you all so much for your support over the years,” Kiyoko started. “Being here and being able to be the Miyagi Circuit Rodeo Queen is such a great honor and I cannot thank you all enough. But this isn’t about me. This is about the Miyagi Circuit Rodeo Princess.” Tanaka and Noya screamed from where they were standing, cheering loudly. 

Oikawa smiled at Kiyoko’s speech so far and leaned forward, resting his head in his hand as he watched. Kiyoko pulled gently on her reins, signalling her horse to begin walking. They made their way around a small circle in the middle of the arena so everyone could get a good look at her. 

“This past year, I have met, competed against, and gotten to know each contestant for the Miyagi Circuit Rodeo Princess and the decision that was made, although it was hard, I think they made a lovely choice. Please, give a round of applause for this year's Rodeo Princess,” Kiyoko took a short pause, glancing towards the gate entering the arena. “Princess Yachi Hitoka!” 

Oikawa watched as a small blonde girl came trotting into the arena on a big grey horse. She waved and smiled shyly as people cheered and clapped for her. Oikawa recognized her as the girl that Hinata and Kageyama hung around with. 

“Yeah! Go Yachi!” Suga shouted from next to Oikawa. Oikawa glanced at him and the silver haired man blushed as he caught Oikawa’s eye. “Ah, sorry Oikawa-san! Yachi is just…” 

“No, no. Don’t apologize for being happy for her. I think it’s great that she won. It’s quite an accomplishment,” Oikawa stated, staring lazily over at Sugawara who flushed and nodded, turning away from the brunette to look back at Yachi and Kiyoko in the middle of the arena. Both girls were off their horses now and the older of the two was putting a white sash over the younger's head. 

Oikawa turned to watch as Kiyoko put a tiara on Yachi’s own hat and then his eyes wandered over towards the bucking chutes. He could see Kuroo’s wild hair from where he was sitting and the man seemed to be trying to tighten the flank strap around an already bucking (as much as it could in the bucking chute) bull. 

“Ah, it looks like they’re having problems with Mr. Moony again tonight,” Sugawara commented as he too looked over that the bucking chutes.

“Again?” Oikawa asked, glancing quickly over at Suga before turning his attention back to Kuroo and the bull. 

“Moony is a newer bull. Only a few years old and one of the worst to deal with,” Suga explained. Oikawa listened, not taking his eyes away from the angry bull. “Last night Iwaizumi was getting ready for his run and Moony somehow got him off _inside_ the chute. It could have been a hell of a lot worse than it was. Iwaizumi is lucky he didn’t end up under Moony.”

“Who is this Iwaizumi guy everyone keeps talking about?” Oikawa asked, turning his attention to Suga who was looking at him with wide eyes. 

“You… you haven’t met Iwaizumi yet?” Suga asked and Oikawa shook his head, confused. “Oikawa-san, Iwaizumi is the top ranked bull rider in the Miyagi Circuit. If… if he keeps it up, he’ll be going to Nationals, like you.” Oikawa couldn’t help the smirk that grew on his face. He was on track to go to Nationals and so was this Iwaizumi guy. That’s interesting. 

“Oh, interesting! Thank you, Suga-chan! I’ll have to keep an eye out for him then! I’d like to meet him!” Sugawara nodded in agreement. 

“I’m sure you’ll meet him at the party tonight? Bokuto finally convinced him to come to an after party,” Oikawa grinned. The rodeo after parties Bokuto and Kuroo liked to play ‘host’ at were definitely what he looked forward to after every rodeo. 

“Ladies and Gentlemen! Give it up for Queen Kiyoko and Princess Yachi!” Daichi said loudly into the mic, catching Oikawa and Suga's attention again. Kiyoko and Yachi rode the perimeter of the arena side by side, both smiling and waving at the crowd. Suga and Asahi both smiled and waved at the two girls as they passed in front of their box. Yachi’s cheeks were flushed and Kiyoko was wearing a large grin, one no one saw on her all too often. 

“Alright, now that we have crowned this year's Princess, let’s move onto one of the most dangerous yet exciting of tonight's events! Bull Riding!” The crowd cheered loudly again and Oikawa let his eyes wander back towards the bucking chutes. 

Kuroo was talking to someone now, presumably about the bull, Mr. Moony but Oikawa couldn’t see the man's face as his back was turned to him. Kuroo glanced over the man's shoulder and made eye contact with Oikawa before waving slightly. Oikawa waved back and the man turned around.

Oikawa frowned as the man's cowboy hat covered his face with a shadow and he couldn’t get a good glimpse at the stranger's face. The man turned around to talk to Kuroo again and Oikawa watched as his friend nodded at the man's words before holding up his cell phone, signalling for Oikawa to check it. 

**From Tetsu-chan:** **  
**Meet me outside by trailer when bull riding is done?

 **To Tetsu-chan:** **  
**sure tetsu-chan!! See u after mr. moony kills your friends!! (づ￣ ³￣)づ

Oikawa watched as Kuroo looked up and rolled his eyes but nodded. He turned back to the man in front of him, said some words and then the two disappeared down behind the chutes. 

“Oikawa-san, have you ever watched the bull riding before?” Sugawara asked suddenly. The burnette turned and smiled at the silver haired man and shook his head. 

“I haven’t. Well, not the Miyagi Circuit bull riding. I’ve watched it before obviously but I’m usually so focused on taking care of Cosmo I forget!” Oikawa responded. Suga nodded. 

“Ah, I see. You care about your horse a lot. That’s good! A lot of rodeo stars just see them as tools to get them to the top,” Oikawa faltered at Suga’s words but nodded in agreement. 

“You’re right. Those kinds of people are the worst. Horses are… they’re so much more than that,” Oikawa spoke and Suga smiled. Oikawa was passionate about winning, but he was also passionate about his horses too. They were a team. It wasn’t just him and it wasn’t just Cosmo. They had to work together to get to where they are today. 

“You’re right. We never really get to talk, Oikawa-san. We should more often. You’re not just a cocky bastard after all,” Oikawa narrowed his eyes at Suga who just smiled sheepishly. “Ah! I mean that in the best way possible! You’re just very committed!” 

Oikawa shrugged and looked back out over the arena. Tanaka and Noya were hyping the crowd out with a skit that involved Kiyoko and Yachi and Daichi was speaking with one of the judges. 

“Alright alright, calm down now everyone. Let me start the bull riding out by saying a few things about these brave… dumb men,” Oikawa saw Suga smile at his boyfriends words and he almost rolled his eyes at how disgustingly in love the two were. “Tonight we have 13 bull riders competing to win tonight's title of champion. All of them are deserving for the title, being brave and coming out here to show us all a good time so why don’t we give them a big round of applause and we can get the show on the road!” 

The crowd, including Oikawa, Suga, and Asahi who were all in the box, cheered loudly at Daichi’s words. The crowd died down after a minute of pure excitement and Daichi continued. 

“Our first bull rider of the night is someone we all know and love. He’s been with us for years,” Daichi glanced towards the chutes making sure that the rider was ready. “Give it up for Bokuto Kouratrou riding the bull SweetTart!” The chute gate was pulled open and SweetTart came out bucking wildly. 

Oikawa watched with wide eyes as Bokuto’s body moved with the bulls. 

Apparently SweetTart decided to be a little more tart for the night because Bokuto ended up being thrown off after only 5 seconds. He got up quickly and hoisted himself over the gate as Tanaka and Noya jumped in to distract the bull from the down rider. SweetTart chased Noya, who bounced around him before the people on horses chased him back into the return pen. 

Oikawa clapped unsurely. He wasn’t too familiar with bull riding but he knew they needed to stay on for 8 seconds without touching the bull with their second, free hand. The one that wasn’t used to keep them on the bull. 

“Akaashi is probably going to have to deal with sad Bokuto later. That was a rough run for him,” Suga commented and Oikawa shot a questioning look over at him as the next person began their run. 

Suga caught Oikawa’s eye. 

“Bokuto has this personal goal thing where he has to stay on a bull for 6 or more seconds or he goes into this weird dejected mode that only Akaashi can pull him out of. It’s quite endearing to see Akaashi get all cute and sentimental with him,” Suga chirped and Oikawa nodded, gazing over the arena. 

Noya was in a barrel being knocked around by an angry bull and Tanaka was trying to get it’s attention. 

“Who do you think will win tonight, Suga-chan?” Oikawa asked, turning back to the silver haired man next to him. 

“Ah, well… Hinata has been doing very well lately but I think Iwaizumi… ah, I don’t really know! There are a bunch of good bull riders in the circuit now!” Oikawa nodded, then leaned and peered past Sugawara and at Asahi who was focused on Noya. 

“Ah, Asahi-kun! Who do you think will win?” Asahi startled and looked over at Oikawa sheepishly. 

“Oh, I don’t know.. Maybe Ennoshita? Iwaizumi? Everyone is very good these days,” Asahi said and Oikawa hummed. 

Iwaizumi. 

Iwaizumi this, Iwaizumi that. Everything he’s heard from anyone today has been about Iwaizumi and he needed to meet this man. 

What was so great about the bull rider? 

Oikawa was going to figure it out even if it was the last thing he ever did.

“Next up, riding the bull Mr. Moony is a real upcoming hotshot, one of the boys known for getting things done, Iwaizumi Hajime!” Oikawa’s head whipped around and he stared at the bucking chute. 

The gate was yanked open and Mr. Moony, a black bull, came out bucking harshly. The man on his back, Iwaizumi Hajime, moved fluidly with the bull as he spun around and kicked wildly, trying to get the man off of his back. 

8 seconds passed and Iwaizumi leapt off the bulls back, rushing towards a gate to get himself away from the pissed off bull. Mr. Moony was on Iwaizumi’s heels though before Tanaka and Noya could grab his attention and Moony’s horn clipped Iwaizumi in the ankle, making the man falter as he climbed up the gate. 

Kuroo grabbed Iwaizumi and helped haul him over the gate and then they were out of Oikawa’s sight. 

“That was a good run! Good job Iwaizumi!” Suga shouted, standing up. Oikawa startled and stood up. He saw what he wanted to see. He’d go wait for Kuroo now. 

Oikawa stood up quickly and pardoned himself from Suga and Asahi’s company, earning himself Suga asking if he was okay and if he scared him off to which he responded with a smile and a _“I’m fine! Just a little tired.”_ before leaving the arena. 

Oikawa walked back towards Cosmo’s pen to make sure he was still okay before wandering off towards his trailer with a yawn. He’d just tell Kuroo to wake him up from a short nap once he was finished with the bull riding. 

**To Tetsu-chan:**  
in trailer napping, tetsuuu. wake me after ur done!! ~(˘▾˘~)

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Oikawa wasn’t sure how long he had been resting his eyes before he nearly had a heart attack when a rapid pounding sounded from his trailer door. He shot up quickly as the door was yanked open and Kuroo walked in, looking at him with an unimpressed look on his face. 

“Get up, princess. It’s party time.” A grin grew on Kuroo’s face and Oikawa groaned, falling back into his bed. Kuroo rolled his eyes and grabbed one of Oikawa’s ankles. He pulled quickly, yanking Oikawa down and scaring him into finally getting up. 

“I’m up! I’m up! Stop it, let me go!” Oikawa kicked Kuroo away and the bull rider put his hands up in defense, stepping away from the bed. He exited the trailer and Oikawa followed a few seconds later, slipping his black cowboy hat over his head. 

Outside, Bokuto and Kuroo were waiting for him. 

Across the grassy field where all the participants' trailers were parked, Oikawa could see a large group of people gathered around Bokuto and Akaashi’s large black and silver trailer. Music was pumping through the outdoor trailer speakers and there were people dancing and drinking. 

“Hey hey hey! What’s up Tooru? Great run today! Did you see mine? I mean, it wasn’t that good but it was still fun. Akaashi said i’ll do better next time and I can’t wait! You won right? Did you get your belt buckle? Iwaizumi got his and it’s so cool! I’m honestly a little jealous-” Oikawa smiled at his friend as he spoke. 

“Woah, calm down Bo. Our boy, To just woke up from a nap,” Kuroo said and Bokuto’s eyes widened. 

“Oh shit, sorry Tooru! I know Akaashi hates when i’m loud after naps.” 

“It’s okay Kou. Don’t worry about it,” Bokuto nodded and the three began their trek over to where the party was. In the distance, Oikawa could see Suga and Daichi sitting together on the tailgate of their truck, cuddled up talking calmly while Kiyoko and Yachi stood off to the side having a conversation that Yachi was clearly embarrassed by because she was waving her arms frantically. 

“Hey, I want to be introduced to Iwaizumi when one of you gets a chance, okay? I need to meet the man who could potentially go to Nationals with me,” Oikawa said and Kuroo nodded. Bokuto was about to respond but then he was gone, bounding off to go talk with someone. Oikawa chuckled knowingly and followed Kuroo to go get a beverage from one of the many coolers sitting on the ground by the trailer everyone was crowding. 

“Sure thing, To. He’s really chill, super nice. You’ll like him,” Kuroo smirked and Oikawa raised an eyebrow at him but didn’t comment further as he pulled a beer can out. He popped the tab and took a swig. 

Kuroo laughed as he made a face at the taste. 

“I know you hate beer, To. We can break into Kenma and I’s trailer later and get the hard shit, yeah?” Oikawa nodded in agreement. 

“Hey! Tooru!” Oikawa turned around when his name was called and he smiled as Bokuto came rushing towards them. “I found Iwaizumi for you!” Oikawa’s eyes widened when the man everyone had been talking about came walking behind Bokuto. 

“Holy shit-” Oikawa started as the man stopped in front of Kuroo and him. Oikawa’s eyes scanned him and he nodded, a blush on his face. 

Iwaizumi was hot. Short, slightly damp dark brown hair, (Presumably from a shower. Hygiene is important in Oikawa’s books.) He had stunning green eyes and an aura around him that screamed confidence. Oikawa licked his lips as he studied the man in front of him before smiling. 

“Iwaizumi, I’d like to introduce you to our good friend and Nationals bound Barrel Racer. This is-” Oikawa cut Kuroo off. 

“Oikawa Tooru. It’s a pleasure to meet-” Iwaizumi smirked at him. 

“You're a barrel racer? Is it true you're all super bitchy and rude?” Iwaizumi cut Oikawa off and the brunette's face fell. Oikawa scrunched his nose up in distaste. 

“You’re a bull rider. Is it true that all bull riders have small dicks? You probably only ride bulls to compensate for what you don’t have,” Oikawa shot back and Kuroo and Bokuto both snickered before whining because they were bull riders too. 

Iwaizumi went to say something but froze and smiled gently. 

“Iwaizumi Hajime. It’s a pleasure to meet you too, Oikawa.” Iwaizumi stuck his hand out to shake Oikawa’s hand and Oikawa eyed it before grasping it firmly and shaking. 

“I definitely won that round, didn’t I Iwa-chan?” Oikawa smirked when their hands dropped. Iwaizumi made a face. 

“Iwa-chan?” He asked and Oikawa shrugged. 

“Iwaizumi is too… blegh. Iwa-chan!” 

“Okay… alright fine. If you’re gonna call me Iwa-chan then I’m gonna call you… Crappykawa!” Oikawa almost spit out his beer he just took a sip of. Kuroo and Bokuto snickered again. 

“I’m sorry? That’s just-” 

“If you don’t like it, how about Shittykawa?” Iwaizumi asked and Oikawa scrunched his nose up distastefully. 

“Now you're just being vulgar.” Iwaizumi smiled at Oikawa and the brunette smiled back. They seemed to have come to an agreement. 

Oikawa was excited for this coming year of Rodeo. 


	2. Should have came to Shiratorizawa.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oikawa, Iwaizumi, Kuroo, and Bokuto take a trip to visit the Ushijima Ranch, Oikawa faces his ex-boyfriend, and Iwaizumi is a good friend.

“I am not dealing with this right now, Kuroo,” Oikawa said, turning to slam his trailer door in Kuroo’s face. Kuroo was quicker though and shoved the trailer door open with ease. 

“To, c’mon! It’ll be fun, I promise!” Kuroo entered the trailer and Oikawa turned and stared at him with a very unamused look on his face. 

“I have a hangover, it’s 6 a.m. and it's our off day. I’d really love to sleep in and avoid seeing U-” Oikawa was about to crawl back into his bed but froze when Kuroo began talking again. 

“Iwaizumi is helping me,” Oikawa turned with a glare and Kuroo grinned at him, knowing he won. Oikawa pursed his lips but sighed and rolled his eyes before motioning for Kuroo to leave so he could change. “You’re coming?” 

Oikawa nodded. 

“Yes, now get out so I can make myself un-zombified.” Kuroo chuckled but left Oikawa to himself, saying that they’d meet in front of Bokuto’s trailer at 6:30 so they could get going. 

Going where? 

To the Ushijima Ranch for a new load of steers. 

Oikawa wasn’t excited. But Kuroo had begged him to go along because they hadn’t had any “bro” time recently and he was missing Oikawa. That was bullshit in Oikawa’s opinion. Kuroo just wanted to torture Oikawa by having to visit his ex-boyfriend's father's ranch. 

Oikawa sighed and shook his head but got dressed, slipping on his favorite pair of jeans, his belt, a white cotton t-shirt, and a blue and grey flannel. He topped his outfit off with his old worn in work cowboy boots and his tan cowboy hat. He then proceeded to spend ten minutes in the bathroom, making sure his skin was moisturized and his teeth were brushed. He decided not to bother with his hair because he was already wearing a hat, figuring he’d just do it after he showered later. 

Glancing down at his phone, Oikawa noticed he had ten minutes to spare and quickly made himself a cup of coffee, putting it in his favorite teal yeti mug before stepping out onto the dewy grass. He took a deep breath, took a sip of coffee, and then walked over to Cosmo’s pen, filled his hay bag, made sure he had water, and patted his head saying a quick “goodbye, love you.” to the horse. 

The brunette began wandering over towards Bokuto and Akaashi’s trailer, slowly sipping on his coffee. He didn’t want to rush because honestly, he didn’t want to see Ushijima Wakatoshi. But then again, he was busy with his own rodeo circuit and jumping team so there was a high possibility that Oikawa wouldn’t even see him. That in mind, Oikawa grew slightly happier. 

“Hey! Crappykawa!” Oikawa turned as the nickname with a scowl on his face. Iwaizumi was running/limping towards him and Oikawa gave him a questioning look as they fell into pace together. “Ah, my ankle… Mr. Moony did a number last night.” Iwaizumi chuckled and Oikawa smiled, glancing down at the man’s leg. 

Iwaizumi was wearing an outfit similar to Oikawa’s. Stained jeans, a belt with last night's buckle on it, a grey t-shirt, and his black cowboy hat. The only difference between their outfits was their boots. Iwiazumi was wearing mud boots, now cowboy boots. 

“Good morning, Iwa-chan.” Oikawa smiled, taking another sip of his coffee. Iwaizumi nodded and said it back and then they were in front of Bokuto’s trailer. Kuroo was sprawled out on the picnic table next to the door and Bokuto was slumped down in a camping chair, almost passed out again. Oikawa smirked and kicked Bokuto’s foot, scaring him. 

Bokuto shot up quickly and glanced around, looking for any sign of danger but then his eyes landed on Oikawa and he whined. 

“Are you two ready or not? You woke me up early, I still have a hangover, and I’m really not in the mood to see Ushiwaka. So get your asses going before I change my mind,” Oikawa threatened and the two were up in seconds. Kuroo gave Iwaizumi a fist bump in greeting and then motioned for them to follow him to his red pickup truck that had a livestock trailer hooked up to it. 

“Ushiwaka?” Iwaizumi asked and Oikawa groaned. 

“Oikawa has a shitty ex-boyfriend and his dad just so happens to be the one the circuit bought the steers from,” Kuroo explained and Iwaizumi flushed slightly, nodding in understanding. 

“I CALL SHOTTY!” Bokuto shouted, zooming past Oikawa and Iwaizumi. They both chuckled and crawled into the backseat of the pickup truck. 

“So… ex-boyfriend huh?” Iwaizumi asked, peering over at Oikawa who was nursing his coffee. Oikawa looked over at the darker haired man and nodded, swallowing the coffee in his mouth. 

“Yeah. Ushijima Wakatoshi. His father owns a big ranch about an hour away. You’re not… homophobic, right?” Oikawa asked hesitantly. Kuroo eyed Iwaizumi cautiously through the rearview mirror and Bokuto fiddled with the radio, trying to find some good music to avoid awkwardness if the conversation went south. 

“Oh, me? What? No, no! I’ve had a few shitty ex-boyfriends too, so I get it.” Iwaizumi said, waving his hand dismissively in front of himself. Oikawa nodded, turning away from the darker haired man to look out the window. 

The four rodeo stars were traveling to Sendai. A city about an hour away from where the Miyagi Rodeo Circuit was based in Misato. They were picking up 15 steers as instructed by Daichi for some unknown reason. They already had steers back at the rodeo grounds so Oikawa thought getting more was pretty damn useless. 

“Four bros, chillin’ in a truck 2 feet apart cause they’re all gay,” Kuroo whispered to himself making Oikawa crack a smile. “Anyways. To, thanks for coming along. I know you really didn’t want to but your help is appreciated.” Kuroo said and Oikawa nodded with a smile. 

“Of course, Tetsu-chan! But if Ushiwaka approaches me or even looks at me, I will lock myself in the truck.” Iwaizumi chuckled at Oikawa, making the brunette turn and pout at him. “Iwa-chan! I’m serious!” Iwaizumi nodded. 

“I’m sure you are, Crappykawa.” 

“I don’t think you need to worry, Tooru. I’m pretty sure that they have practice today anyways.” Iwaizumi’s eyebrows furrowed at the word practice. 

“Practice? What kind of practice?” 

“Ushiwaka and his hooligans are part of a jumping club. Rich kids-” Oikawa rolled his eyes while pouting and Kuroo shook his head as Bokuto cut off Oikawa.

“Ushijima’s dad owns his own rodeo circuit! It’s pretty popular and it’s a definite tourist trap but all the people that participate in the Shiratorizawa Rodeo are super good! Ushijima has been to nationals like 3 years in a row.” Bokuto gushed and Oikawa grew annoyed. 

Ushijima Wakatoshi is a good bull rider. Great, even. But he was also one of Oikawa’s worst exes. He was stoic, blunt with his emotions and thoughts, and he was extremely overconfident in his skills. He’d always berate Oikawa (unknowingly to himself) and make the brunette feel lesser than he was. It took Oikawa’s best friends 8 months to get him to realize his self worth and then, Oikawa decided to end things. It hadn’t been very pretty. 

“Don’t praise him like that!” 

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

“We’re here boys.” The Ushijima residence was huge. A large house off to the side with a wrap-around porch and then a series of small pens across from it. The driveway was a wrap around that left an empty grass patch with a horse sculpture in the middle of it. There were 2 small barns and then a huge red and white barn and behind that was a vast field. “Iwaizumi, wake Oikawa up?” Kuroo asked as he parked the truck and trailer near a fence. Iwaizumi nodded and tapped Oikawa’s shoulder. 

The brunette whined and shrunk further away, cuddling into his arm and Iwaizumi snorted. 

“Oikawa, come on.” Iwaizumi said, shaking Oikawa’s arm gently. Oikawa opened one eye, glanced at where they were, and sighed, closing his eye again. “Hey, no. Wake up. Come on, Shittykawa.”

Oikawa pouted at the nickname but reluctantly opened his eyes and sat up. 

“I stand by what I said earlier,” Oikawa said as he peered past Iwaizumi and at Ushijima’s father as he walked towards the truck. Bokuto unbuckled quickly and got out of the truck, Kuroo following a second later. 

“If you’re really not comfortable, stay in the truck. I’m sure Kuroo and Bokuto will understand.” Iwaizumi said and Oikawa shook his head with a sigh as he unbuckled and opened his door. He moved to get out but stopped and turned to Iwaizumi. 

“I’ll be okay. Plus, Kuroo said that Ushiwaka probably isn’t even here! So no worries, right Iwa-chan?” Oikawa grinned and got out of the truck. Iwaizumi blinked but nodded and got out of the truck. 

“It’s nice to see you again, Ushijima-san. We’re here to pick up those 15 steers.” The man, Ushijima Takashi, nodded with a smile. This was something Oikawa could never figure out. Ushiwaka’s dad was always so nice, smiling, laughing, cracking jokes. The complete opposite of Wakatoshi. 

“Great! Good to see you again Tetsurou! Koutarou. Tooru, it’s good to see you again. Really, you should come around more often,” Oikawa grimaced and feigned a smile and nod. Takashi’s eyes wandered over to Iwaizumi and he smiled, reaching out to shake his hand. “I’ve never met you before! Let me guess… bull rider?” 

Iwaizumi smiled and nodded, shaking his hand firmly. “That’s right, Ushijima-san. I’m Iwaizumi Hajime. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Likewise, Hajime. I’m Ushijima Takashi. I’ll have to tell my son to keep an eye on you,” The man said. “In fact, I think Wakatoshi, the team, and I might have to take a run over to the Miyagi Rodeo grounds to get a peek at all of your performances. See who we can recruit to join Shiritorizawa.” Takashi winked and all 4 young men chuckled nervously. “Ah, I’m just kidding. Kind of. Alright, follow me.” 

Takashi led them towards the big barn, sliding open the doors for them to enter. 

Oikawa, no matter how much he hated to admit it, was always impressed by the size of the Ushijima ranch. Not only did they own over 500 head of cattle, but they owned an entire rodeo circuit, a jumping arena, and they managed 5 boarding barns over the entire Miyagi Prefecture. 

The Ushijima family was loaded. 

“So, here they are. Do you know what you guys are using them for yet?” Takashi asked as they approached a large pen with the 15 steers in it. The four all shook their heads no. 

“Nah, Daichi hasn’t told us yet but he said something about a big announcement at tomorrow nights rodeo!” Bokuto said excitedly as he peered at the steers curiously. Takashi nodded. 

“I see. What time does the rodeo start tomorrow night?” Oikawa felt a pit of anxiety growing in his stomach. He didn’t want Wakatoshi or his friends to watch him barrel race or to even see them. 

“5 o’clock. You think you’ll attend?” Kuroo asked, glancing at Oikawa. Takashi shrugged. 

“Who knows. We haven’t scoped the competition much this year so tomorrow could give us a good start. But we’ve been busy with our own rodeo’s here at Shiratorizawa.” Takashi said and then he sighed. “Anyways boys, I hate to cut this short, but I need to get going. I trust that you four will be able to take care of the steers? Tooru, you know the drill. Shut the barn doors when you're done, alright?” Oikawa nodded and Takashi clapped him on the shoulder before saying his goodbyes and leaving. 

“You good, To?” Bokuto asked, turned to look at Oikawa. The brunette nodded with a smile. 

“Of course! Why wouldn’t I be?” 

“You’re pale, Tooru. Go sit in the truck for a few minutes, alright? I didn’t know being here would stress you out so much,” Kuroo said, frowning. Oikawa hated that Kuroo knew he was stressed. He thought he had his emotions under control. “Seriously, go.” 

Oikawa frowned but nodded, walking with his head down past his three friends. 

He really thought he’d be okay. 

His break up with Wakatoshi was over a year and a half ago when he was 19. Now he’s 21, moved on, but still scared to see the tall, stoic man. It wasn’t that the breakup was _that_ bad per se, but it was messy and involved a lot of shit from Wakatoshi’s friends, who Oikawa could safely say, he hated. 

Oikawa frowned deeper as he approached the truck. He didn’t want to be left alone, but he did feel kind of sick so he’d listen to Kuroo. Just this once. 

“Oikawa? Oikawa Tooru? Holy shit! It is you!” Oikawa froze and looked up. “Oh my god, never thought I’d see you here again,” Semi Eita stood next to a silver truck across the driveway, hands on his hips, smirking at Oikawa. 

“Jesus, just my luck,” Oikawa mumbled to himself. It’d be rude to ignore the blonde so he plastered a smile on his face and waved half-heartedly. 

“Wait, really? Oikawa Tooru is here?” Shirabu Kenjirou’s head popped up from behind the cab of the truck and Oikawa groaned inwardly. As long as Tendou Satori stayed away from him, he’d be fine. 

“What are you doing here, Oikawa?” Semi asked as he and Shirabu approached him. Oikawa shrugged and pointed a thumb over his shoulder at Kuroo’s red truck with the livestock trailer hooked to it. 

“I’m here picking up a few steers for the Miyagi rodeo. I thought I heard you guys had practice today?” Oikawa asked and Semi shrugged. 

“No practice. Ushiwaka wanted to give the horses a relaxation day so they can be in top shape for the competition this weekend. How’s _Miyagi_ been treating you?” Oikawa’s eyes narrowed at the mocking tone of voice Semi used to say Miyagi but ignored it. 

“Great, actually. I’m on course to go to nationals.” Semi hummed and nodded. Shirabu glanced down at his phone. 

“That’s great. I hope to compete against you in the semi-finals then. Have you spoken with Ushiwaka since you’ve been here?” Oikawa could feel his blood run cold as he saw Ushijima Wakatoshi step out onto the house's porch. 

“Listen, it’s been nice. I gotta go though-” 

“Oikawa.” Oikawa cursed as Ushijima began his approach. He wondered if he could get away with ignoring him and pretending not to hear him. But then again, Semi and Shirabu were right there and they would rat him out. 

“Ushiwaka.” Oikawa forced a large smile and Semi rolled his eyes at it. Oikawa really wanted to punch the blonde. 

“You’ve finally decided to come to Shiratorizawa?” Ushijima asked and Oikawa grit his teeth, jaw clenching at the sudden flow of memories that came with that sentence. 

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

**_Oikawa, age 18._ **

_Oikawa walked into the Shiratorizawa show arena with a smile on his face. He hummed gently to himself as he climbed up to sit on the third row of bleacher seats to watch Ushijima, Semi, and Tendou practice their jumping._

_“Oikawa. Hello,” Ushijima greeted the brunette. He was taking a break, letting his horse get water while he stood next to the fence, watching Tendou and Semi._

_“Hi, Ushi-chan! Almost done?” Oikawa asked._

_“Soon, yes. Where are you coming from?” Oikawa frowned. He had told Ushijima twice this morning and once the night before that he’d be running barrels at the Hanamaki Ranch with his friends._

_“Ah, Wakatoshi. I told you already. I was practicing barrels with Makki and Mattsun so I can compete in the Miyagi Rodeo…” Oikawa said and Ushijima ‘tch-ed’ and looked away._

_“You’re wasting your time with them, Oikawa. You should come and compete at Shiratorizawa.”_

_“You know that’s not what I want.”_

_“You’re wasting your talent. Here at Shiratorizawa, we’re guaranteed to be the best. We can schedule a time every day for you to practice with a trainer here, Oikawa. What can Hanamaki and Matsukawa offer you? Nothing. Distractions.” Oikawa’s hands balled into fists and he glared at Ushijima._

_Semi and Tendou had both stopped practicing now, opting to look at the scene unfold in front of them._

_“I don’t care about training with some overpriced horse girl, Ushijima. Cosmo and I are good enough as is. Great even. You’ve never even seen us run barrels so you can’t say anything. Practice all you want. I’m going home,” Oikawa stood up and walked off the bleachers, not bothering to give any of the three teens in the arena another glance before leaving._

_“Think he’ll come around?” Semi asked after a few moments of quiet. Tendou grinned and laid flat on his horses back._

_“Nope! Oikawa’s too damn stubborn! It’s annoying,” Tendou said, making Semi snort._

_“He’ll come around. He’ll realize Shiratorizawa is his only choice eventually.” Ushijima got back on his horse and they began practicing again, letting the conversation die._

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

**_Oikawa, age 19._ **

_“You’re gripping the reins too hard.”_

_“Loosen your grip on the horn when you're going around the barrels.”_

_“He doesn’t seem like much of a barrel horse.”_

_“Have you considered buying a new horse?”_

_“Maybe you should get a new saddle.”_

_“You could strengthen your bond with the horse-”_

_“OKAY! I’m done! I’m done.” Oikawa had officially had it with Ushijima._

_After inviting his boyfriend to come watch him barrel race at the Hanamaki Ranch, said boyfriend decided to bring along not only his friends but a personal trainer as well, thinking Oikawa would be grateful for all the criticism he didn’t need._

_His scores had gotten so much better from when he was younger. Starting at 25 seconds when he was 15, he was now down to 15 seconds at 19. Four years of hard work paid off and he wasn’t even using a trained barrel horse._

_Cosmo, a 4-year-old trail riding horse, had been a gift from Hanamaki’s parents for his 15th birthday after he expressed how he’d love to learn to ride and compete. He would be forever grateful for the Hanamaki family._

_“Oikawa, you’ll never get better without help. Let me get you a trained barrel horse. Then you can compete with the rest of us at Shiratorizawa.” Oikawa shook his head and handed Cosmo’s reins to Mattsun who was standing off to the side with Makki._

_“No. You don’t get it, Ushibaka! I have been practicing my ass off with Cosmo since the day I turned 15! I had no idea how to ride and I had awful times! I started with times in the high 20’s and over the four years I’ve been riding, I’ve gotten so much better! That last run was 15.01 Ushiwaka! Not even Semi or Shirabu have gotten that low! Why can’t you just be happy for me!” Oikawa shouted, poking a harsh finger into Ushijima’s chest._

_Ushijima grabbed Oikawa’s wrist and squeezed it. Oikawa glanced down at his boyfriend's hand and swallowed harshly before returning his glare at Ushijima’s face._

_“I’m trying to help you, Oikawa. Do not get mad at me.”_

_“I don’t want your help. I don’t_ **_need_ ** _it! Let go of me and take your stupid trainer and your stupid friends back to Shiratorizawa! We’re done! We’re over! I’m breaking up with you!” Ushijima stepped back in shock, his hand still locked around Oikawa’s wrist._

_“What?”_

_“I’m breaking up with you! Leave me alone!” Oikawa yanked his arm away from the taller man and stormed towards Makki and Mattsun who were watching with wide eyes. He grabbed Cosmo’s reins and disappeared towards the Hanamaki’s large barn._

_“Sorry… uh, Ushijima. You guys should go.” Makki said with a sheepish look on his face. He exchanged a look with Mattsun before the two of them rushed off to find Oikawa, leaving Ushijima and his crew standing in the arena._

_“Holy shit, he did it,” Shirabu said in amazement. Semi smacked him._

_“Shut the fuck up, Ushiwaka just got… broken up with.” Semi whispered the last part but Ushijima could still hear._

_“We… we should go back to Shiratorizawa.” Ushijima said after a few silent moments, turning and leaving the arena. He walked towards his truck, Tendou following closely after him._

_“Hey, there’s a plus side! He was always kind of high maintenance so now you won’t have to deal with him interrupting our practices!” Semi glared at the back of Tendou’s head._

_“Ushiwaka, we’ll make him regret not coming to Shiratorizawa. Don’t worry!” Goshiki said, but it didn’t matter._

_Ushijima was upset._

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

“No. I’m here for the Miyagi Rodeo Circuit to pick up steers. And I’m not sorry to say, but I’m very happy competing at Miyagi,” Ushijima nodded. Semi and Shirabu exchanged looks before deciding to wander towards the house, leaving the ex-couple alone. 

“Oikawa. When you broke up with me, I was upset.” Oikawa rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.

“Gee. Glad I could make you feel a human emotion,” Oikawa murmured sarcastically. 

“I stand by my words though, Oikawa Tooru. You should have come to Shiratorizawa.” Oikawa shook his head and turned to walk back towards the barn and away from Ushijima but was stopped when the taller man grabbed his arm. 

“Let go of me, Ushiwaka.” 

“No. Listen to me-”

“Hey, man. He said let him go. So I’d suggest doing so,” Iwaizumi’s voice interrupted Ushijima and the stoic man froze, his grip on Oikawa’s wrist faltering. Oikawa took that opportunity to pull his arm to safety and away from Ushijima. 

“Who’s this?” Ushijima asked, his arm falling to his side. His hands were balled into fists.

“Iwaizumi Hajime. You must be Ushijima Wakatoshi.” Ushijima nodded. “I’d say it’s a pleasure but you were messing with Tooru after he asked you not to. And I don’t take kindly to those who fuck with my friends, Ushijima-san.” Iwaizumi said, standing protectively next to Oikawa. 

Oikawa felt his heart flutter at the sudden use of his given name. He didn’t know he and Iwa-chan had gone there over the 10 hours, not even a full day, they’ve known each other. 

“Iwa-chan, it’s okay,” Oikawa whispered but the darker haired man didn’t falter. Ushijima coughed. 

“I apologize if I made you uncomfortable, Oikawa. I should be going, now. It was… a pleasure to make your acquaintance Iwaizumi-san.” Ushijima turned around and walked off towards the house. Tendou, Goshiki, Semi, and Shirabu were waiting for him on the porch, all watching with narrowed eyes but they all went into the house when Ushijima said something to them. 

Oikawa huffed out a sigh of relief and hugged Iwaizumi’s arm. “Thank you Iwa-chan!” 

“No problem, Oikawa.” Iwaizumi smiled at him and Oikawa smiled right back. 

“How did you know I needed to be saved by someone big and strong like Iwa-chan?” Oikawa asked teasingly, his mood lifting with Ushijima and his friends gone. Iwaizumi rolled his eyes but his smile didn’t falter. 

“Kuroo told me to back his truck up to the loading pen. Then I found you being a damsel in distress,” Iwaizumi said, dangling Kuroo’s key fob with a little cat keychain on it in front of Oikawa’s face. Oikawa pouted. 

“Well, thanks again, Iwa-chan! Let’s get these steers loaded up and get the hell out of dodge!” Oikawa said, skipping to the passenger side of the truck. Iwaizumi laughed but followed, getting in the driver's seat to back the truck and trailer up. 

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

4 hours later, after a pitstop demanded to get McDonald's by Bokuto, the four were back at the Miyagi Rodeo Circuit Arena and the steers were unloaded into an outdoor pen. 

“Hey, Oikawa. You busy later?” Oikawa was walking towards his trailer to shower and get ready for the rest of the day when Iwaizumi approached him, a nervous smile on his face. 

“Hmm? Oh! No, Iwa-chan! What’s up? What are we doing?” Oikawa asked, a grin making its way up his face as Iwaizumi’s face flushed slightly. 

“Well… I heard that um, there's this Meteor shower tonight, and uh, I figured that since your horse's name is Cosmo, you must like space and I figured it might be something you’re interested in?” Iwaizumi asked and Oikawa smiled. Good deductive reasoning, Iwaizumi. 

“I love space! I didn’t know there was going to be a meteor show! Thanks for inviting me, Iwa-chan! I’d love to watch it with you!” Oikawa was honestly excited. Ever since he was a kid, he’s been obsessed with space. He even had little glow in the dark stars on his trailer's ceiling above the bed. 

“Wait, really?” Iwaizumi asked, taken aback. 

“...Yes? Did you want me to say no?” 

“No! No. I just, I figured that you’d think it was weird or something since we’ve only known each other for like, half a day… and stuff.” Iwaizumi’s face was red and Oikawa was subduing a grin. 

Iwaizumi's cute.

“And stuff,” Oikawa whispered to himself. “Well, Iwa-chan! We’re friends, right? We need to get to know each other! Plus, we’re going to go to nationals together and crush Ushiwaka and his dumb friends so we gotta be close!” Iwaizumi nodded. 

“Right. Um… you were going to go do something so… I’ll text you?” Oikawa nodded. 

“Sure! You’ll need my number though. Give me your phone.” 

Iwaizumi handed the brunette his phone and Oikawa quickly made a new contact for himself, naming it “ **Tooru ♥ (･ω <)☆ **” then he shot a quick text to himself to make sure he could save Iwaizumi’s number and the two said goodbye. Iwaizumi walked off towards where Kuroo was talking to Daichi and Suga, and Oikawa entered his trailer, smiling to himself. 

He had a date with Iwa-chan.

But it wasn’t a date. 

It was a friend date? 

Frate?

Whatever. 

Oikawa shook his head and locked his trailer door, then he entered his bathroom and undressed quickly. 

Oikawa was excited for this coming year of Rodeo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I never update this fast but I actually really like writing this AU and it's helping me cope with the loss of my horse. 
> 
> Anyways! I'm still thinking of an update schedule. Maybe Tuesdays and Fridays?  
> As always, if you enjoyed, please leave a kudos and maybe even a comment! Ty all so much for the kind words on chapter 1! Chapter 3 soon!  
> Thanks! And until next time on,
> 
> Of Bulls and Barrels


	3. Is it a date?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oikawa and Iwaizumi get to know a bit more about each other while enjoying a nice meteor shower. Then Daichi calls.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's chapter 3! Hope you enjoy. 
> 
> If you do, please consider leaving a kudos or comment! TY!

Iwaizumi Hajime joined the Miyagi Rodeo circuit two weeks ago, participating in 8 rodeos with them so far. In his five-year bull riding career, he’s participated in over 1,340 rodeos. But he’s never felt like he belonged to all his previous circuits as much as he feels he belongs to Miyagi. The people were welcoming, he’s made so many friends he never had before, and there was even Oikawa Tooru. 

The two weeks Iwaizumi went without being introduced to Oikawa wasn’t necessarily boring, but after being called out for having a small dick (Iwaizumi doesn’t have a small dick) the cocky bull rider’s stomach twisted weirdly now whenever he saw the brunette. It was weird and he’s never experienced the feeling before. 

The fact that Iwaizumi had only known Oikawa for less than a day and he already asked the brunette out on a date was mind-boggling. 

Was it a date? 

No. It wasn’t. It was too early for a date. 

Iwaizumi shook his head but walked towards Kuroo and Bokuto who were looking at all the steers in their pen. 

“I shall call him Sweetie.” Iwaizumi heard Bokuto say as he pointed randomly at one of the steers. Kuroo snorted but nodded and pointed at his own steer. 

“And that one is Munchkin.” Iwaizumi leaned against the fence and both the other bull riders looked at him with wide grins. “Your turn ‘Zumi.” 

Iwaizumi rolled his eyes at the new nickname but pointed to a little tan steer. “That one will from here on out be dubbed as uh… Geo.” Kuroo and Bokuto both booed the name but Iwaizumi laughed it off and listened to the other two rattled off random names for the rest of the steers. They’d never remember them anyway. 

“What’s going on ‘Zumi?” Kuroo asked suddenly, turning to lean his back against the fence. Iwaizumi shrugged. 

“Oikawa and I are going to watch a meteor shower later tonight. Other than that, nothing. How about you guys?” Iwaizumi said casually, causing Bokuto’s eyes to widen and Kuroo’s mouth to fall open. 

“Sorry, repeat that?” 

“Um... How about you guys?” 

“No no, before that.” 

“Um… Oikawa and I are going to watch a meteor shower?” Kuroo and Bokuto turned to look at each other before they each grabbed one of Iwaizumi’s arms and began dragging him towards his own trailer. 

“Call Akaashi. Call Suga. Call Kiyoko. This is an emergency, Bo. Our boy is finna get some and-” 

“I’m sorry, what? I’m ‘finna’ get what? Hey! Let me go, you morons!” Iwaizumi struggled against Bokuto and Kuroo as they tugged him along. Bokuto was shouting towards his own trailer that Akaashi was sitting in front of and Iwaizumi saw the curly-haired man stand with a sigh. Kuroo opened the door to Iwaizumi’s trailer and they sat him down on the couch before they began to rifle through his cabinets. “You dumbasses! What the fuck-” 

A shirt was thrown at Iwaizumi’s face and Kuroo picked up Iwaizumi’s nicest pair of cowboy boots, tossing them at Iwaizumi’s feet. 

“Alright, what the fuck you guys.” Akaashi was now entering the trailer, catching all three of the bull rider's attention. 

“Bokuto-san. Kuroo-san. Is this necessary?” Akaashi asked, his hands folded behind his back as he stared at them with a cool, calculating look on his face. Bokuto nodded aggressively and grabbed Akaashi by the shoulders, shaking him slightly. 

“‘Zumi is going on a date with Oikawa, ‘Kaashi! OIKAWA!” Akaashi rolled his eyes and Iwaizumi almost laughed because he’d never seen the younger man so expressive. 

“It’s not a big deal, Bokuto-san,” Akaashi said and Iwaizumi nodded in agreement. 

“It’s actually not even a date,” Iwaizumi added, making Kuroo and Bokuto toss disgusted looks at him. Kuroo shook his head. 

“You don’t understand, ‘Zumi. Oikawa doesn’t hang out with people. He flat out refuses anything one on one. The only thing he actually agrees to do is party and that's only because of free alcohol.” Iwaizumi’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Oikawa seemed like such a people person, he thought that the brunette would jump at the chance to hang out with people. 

Kuroo must have seen Iwaizumi’s confused expression because soon enough, the trailer door was shut and Akaashi, Bokuto, and Kuroo were all sitting down in various spots around the trailer, seemingly ready to have a ‘serious’ conversation. 

“Listen Iwaizumi. We’ve known you for what? Two weeks?” Kuroo asked. Iwaizumi nodded. “Oikawa has been part of the Miyagi Circuit for almost four years now and after breaking up with Ushijima Wakatoshi… he’s not the same. I don’t remember much of what he was like before the breakup but he has these two friends, Makki and Mattsun, or uh… Hanamaki and Matsukawa, I’m sure you’ll meet them eventually. They’re actually really funny and-” 

Akaashi sighed exasperatedly. “Get on with it, Kuroo-san.” 

“Right, anyways. Before Ushiwaka, Tooru was more carefree. Easy-going. He… I don’t really know but he’s more closed off now. The fact that he’s going somewhere with you _alone_ is amazing.” Kuroo explained but Iwaizumi was still confused. 

He’d talk to Oikawa about it once they were closer. For now, he’d just appreciate the fact that Oikawa hadn’t turned him down. 

“I’ll… tread lightly then?” Iwaizumi said and Kuroo and Bokuto seemed okay with that answer, both nodding and standing again. “What time is it right now?” 

Akaashi glanced down at his apple watch. 

“12:49.” 

“Thanks. Alright, get out of my trailer. I’m taking a nap.” Iwaizumi said, also standing up. Bokuto whined but Kuroo let himself be ushered out without a word. 

“Sorry about all this, Iwaizumi-san. Good luck tonight,” Akaashi said before he pulled Bokuto out of the trailer. The door was shut a second later and Iwaizumi was left to his thoughts. He smiled and shook his head at the wild antics of Bokuto and Kuroo before slipping off his boots and crawling up onto his bed. 

Iwaizumi had never had problems making friends while he was with his past circuits, but the Miyagi Circuit seemed to be filled with all the right kinds of people. He’d never had close friends but he was slowly gaining some. 

_A welcomed improvement._ Iwaizumi thought as he closed his eyes. 

Iwaizumi let himself fall asleep a few minutes later. 

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Oikawa stepped out of his shower, steam filling the small trailer bathroom. He dried his hair as much as he could before patting down the rest of his body with the same towel before wrapping it around his waist. He opened the bathroom door and stepped out into the living area of his trailer with a sigh. 

He made sure his door was locked and all his curtains were shut before letting his towel drop to the floor. He picked it up and tossed it onto the table before turning to rummage through his clothes drawers for fresh boxers and new jeans. 

He chuckled when the first pair of boxers he pulled out were bright pink with little blue sharks all over them. He doesn’t remember when he got them, but they were one of his favorite pairs. 

With another heavy sigh, Oikawa dressed his lower half, not putting his belt on yet. He still needed to change his belt buckle to the one he had won the previous night. 

Oikawa reached over and grabbed his phone down from his bed, checking to see if Iwaizumi had texted him yet. Nothing. 

He shrugged, not worried. He could track the bull rider down without a problem if he really needed to. 

“Hey! Oikawa-san! You in there?” Oikawa heard Daichi’s voice and there was a knock on his door a few seconds later. Oikawa groaned but stepped towards his door, slipping his phone in his pocket before unlocking and opening the trailer door. Outside stood Daichi, Suga, and Yachi. 

Yachi squeaked and looked straight down but Suga coughed, catching Oikawa’s confused look and motioned to the fact that Oikawa was still shirtless. He “oh-ed” and slipped on a plain light blue t-shirt from his drawer quickly. 

“Right, uh. Hey. What can I do for you, Mr. Refreshing-kun? Dai-chan? Yachi-chan?” Oikawa asked, raking a hand through his uncombed, still wet hair. He could feel the water droplets dripping onto his back. 

Daichi glanced back at Yachi and she squeaked at the sudden attention but Suga placed a hand on her shoulder and sent her a kind smile. 

“Um, well. Oikawa-san, you see… well, after the crowning of the rodeo queen and princess uh, they um…” Oikawa smiled at her and she blushed, quickly looking away. Daichi sighed but smiled and took over. 

“You’ve been around long enough to know what goes on around here, Oikawa. After the crowning, both the queen and the princess choose a representative of sorts? Y’know. To help with skits and stuff with Tanaka and Noya. Yachi was wondering if you’d do the honor of being her… knight?” Yachi blushed again and moved to hide behind Suga but Suga kept her in place with a firm hand on her shoulder. 

“Yacchan! I’d be honored to be your knight. Cosmo and I won’t let you down!” Oikawa said excitedly. He’d been chosen to be the representative for one of the past queens his first year as part of the Miyagi Rodeo and he had loved every second of it. It was fun and he got to know a lot more people by doing it. 

“Ha? Ah! T-thank you so much, Oikawa-san!” Yachi said, bowing slightly. Oikawa waved his hand with a grin on his face. 

“No worries, Yacchan! It’ll be fun!” Oikawa promised. “Do you know who Kiyoko chose yet? I assume one of you two?” Oikawa asked, glancing between Daichi and Sugawara. 

The two in question looked at each other and shook their heads. 

“No idea… maybe Hinata? Or Ennoshita? Who knows.” Suga said with a passive shrug. “Sorry for intruding, Oikawa. Thanks!” Suga said, dismissing Yachi and himself. Daichi stayed behind as the two walked away. Yachi stuttered another thank you over her shoulder in the process. 

“Oikawa,” Oikawa nodded, waiting for Daichi to continue. “Thank you. Really. Yachi was really nervous about asking you.” 

“I’m just surprised is all!” Oikawa exclaimed with a shrug, standing straight, crossing his arms across his chest. “Why didn’t she choose the little orange one? Or Tobio-chan?” Oikawa almost spits Tobio’s name. “She’s always hanging out with them.” 

Daichi sighed. 

“I think it’s because she admires you.” Oikawa felt his face heating up. 

She admired him?

“Um, why?” Oikawa asked, suddenly unsure of himself.

“Honestly, no offense Oikawa, we’re friends but you can have a shitty personality when you want,” Oikawa smirked and shrugged. He knew it was true. “But when I asked her about why she chose you she went off on this little rant about how kind you are to your horse and how passionate about barrel riding you are. She’s a barrel racer too y’know,” Oikawa nodded. 

He knew that. He’s watched her practice. She’ll get far if she keeps practicing on that big grey horse of hers. 

“She has a pretty special bond with Gilligans. And she knows you have a bond like that with Cosmo. Not a lot of people can tap into their horses' emotional and mental state but you can and I think she wants to be able to do that too.” Daichi explained. Oikawa nodded and pursed his lips. 

“Well, if she keeps bonding and getting to know her horse she’ll go far-” Oikawa’s phone buzzed in his pocket and he pulled it out, glancing down at the screen. “Listen, Dai-chan. I know you like to play dad to your weird gaggle of random teenagers around here, but I want them to succeed just as much as you do. Maybe not Tobio-chan…” Oikawa mumbled the last part to himself but Daichi heard it and narrowed his eyes at him. “Anyways! Nice chat! Gotta go!” 

Daichi rolled his eyes but waved goodbye and turned to go catch up with Sugawara and Yachi who were talking to Kiyoko. 

Oikawa shut his trailer door and sat down on his couch, staring at his phone screen. 

**From Iwa-chan ♥:  
** Want to meet up at 7 and go grab some takeout or something before we go? 

**To Iwa-chan ♥:  
** sure Iwa-chan!! 7 in front of my trailer? ٩(˘◡˘)۶

 **From Iwa-chan ♥:  
** Sounds good, Trashykawa. Make sure to bring a jacket or sweatshirt. It’s supposed to get cold later tonight. 

**To Iwa-chan ♥:  
** haa, what are you Iwa-chan?? my mom?? (¬‿¬)

 **From Iwa-chan ♥:  
** …

 **To Iwa-chan ♥:  
** im kidding!! im kidding!! see u at 7!!!（っ＾▿＾）

Oikawa smiled and checked the time before sliding his phone into his pocket. 

It was 3:01 so he still had a good 4 hours before he needed to be ready to go. That gave him some quality Cosmo time. 

Oikawa finished dressing with the thought he’d change again before he went out with Iwaizumi in the back of his head, and then he did his hair routine. 

Blow-dry. Comb. Style. Admire. 

Oikawa winked and shot finger guns at himself in his bathroom mirror before nodding and slipping his boots on. He exited the living part of his trailer and walked back to where his tack ‘room’ which was more of a small closet right that could fit four saddles and most of his other random tack if he maneuvered it in well enough. 

Oikawa’s parents had given him the trailer as a gift on his 20th birthday. It was a 4 horse stall trailer with a large living space. It had everything he needed and much much more. He had felt bad about taking it from his parents but they insisted that if him being part of the rodeo circuit made him happy then they wanted him to have the safest and comfortable living situation for while he was away from home. 

Oikawa grabbed out Cosmo’s brush bag and then made his horse's meal. A green scoop of grain. A clear scoop of mineral. A small red scoop of joint supplement. And 4 treats. 

The brunette hesitated a second before slipping a few extra treats into his back pocket before he shouldered the brush bag and carried the grain pan over to his moody palomino horse. 

“Move it, fatass,” Oikawa said in the most loving way possible as he opened the gate to enter his horse's stall. The horse snorted and bobbed his head, trying to get to the pan filled with his food. Oikawa shoved the horse's nose away and set the grain pan on the ground a few feet away from the gate and then moved away so Cosmo could go to town and eat. 

Oikawa examined the stall with a sigh. The hay bag was almost empty with most of the hay littered all over the ground and he needed to clean up the various piles of horse shit.

“God, you're a mess. Aren’t you Cosmo?” The horse ignored him and he hummed, hooking his brush bag to the fence before exiting the stall and grabbing a wheelbarrow and pitchfork from the dumping mound at the end of the row of stalls. 

In the stall next to Cosmo was Kiyoko’s big blue roan gelding, Rico. The story around the rodeo grounds was that Kiyoko had saved him from a slaughter auction. Oikawa had seen the before pictures of the horse and it was safe to say that Kiyoko had completely transformed the horse. In the before picture he had seen, you could see every single one of Rico’s ribs. He had had right above his hoof rubbed raw and bloody by too tight of hobbles that probably hadn’t been off in months. He was skittish and shy, spooking when people moved too quickly. But now Rico was beautiful. He filled out, no longer being able to see his ribs. He was healthy, he never had any scratches and he was the kindest horse Oikaw had ever met in his entire life, always seeking out attention and treats from people. 

And Oikawa couldn’t refuse that. He slipped his hand into the pocket he put extra treats in and glanced around, spotting Kiyoko eyeing him with a smile. He winked at her and slipped Rico a treat, whispering to the horse not to tell his mom. He watched Kiyoko hold a hand up to her mouth to suppress a laugh and then she turned away to continue filling her horse's hay bag. 

Rico bobbed his head appreciatively and stuck his head through the fence bars, trying to see if Oikawa had anymore. The brunette laughed when the horse got hold of his t-shirt, nibbling on it and pulling him closer. 

“Hey now. Don’t do that, Rico. Cosmo might get jealous,” Oikawa says, turning to eye Cosmo who was now done with his food. Cosmo watched as Oikawa patted Rico’s nose and then when Oikawa wheeled the wheelbarrow to the gate, Cosmo snorted and turned away, nibbling at what was left from in the grain pan. 

“An attitude really doesn’t suit you, Cosmo. It’s not attractive,” Oikawa tutted, pushing the barrow into the stall. If horses could roll their eyes, Oikawa was sure that Cosmo would be doing so right now. The horse tossed lifted his head a few inches and turned around to stare at Oikawa who was now cleaning up the hay and poop from the stall. Oikawa continued to talk. “Really, I’m sure if you lost the attitude you could find a lovely boyfriend or girlfriend. There are so many horses around here but you're always so sour.” 

Cosmo lifted his tail. 

“Hey, I’m almost done cleaning! Don’t do that!” 

Cosmo let it go, his fecal matter dropping with a loud _plop_ on the dirt behind him. Oikawa blinked at the horse and let out a loud sigh. 

“I guess you doing it now instead of right after I put everything away is best. So thanks, Cos.” 

The horse turned away, closing his eyes. 

“Asshole,” Oikawa muttered under his breath, moving to continue cleaning the pen. 

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

7 o’clock rolled around quickly and Iwaizumi was ready. He wasn’t sure if it was a date or not, but he was going to make a good impression on Oikawa at least. 

He was wearing his nicest deep blue jeans, a nice royal blue and white flannel, his black cowboy hat, black boots and he had his rodeo jacket slung over his arm. He grabbed his truck keys from his trailer counter and then he left, making sure to lock the door behind him. 

“Hey, Iwa. Going to find To?” Bokuto called out to him from where he was sitting in front of his own trailer. Iwaizumi faltered for a second and then walked towards Bokuto. Akaashi was sitting next to him, holding a steaming cup of coffee in his hands. Iwaizumi nodded. 

“Yeah, actually. He in his trailer?” Iwaizumi asked and Bokuto shook his head. 

“Nah, he’s over with Cosmo I’m pretty sure.” Iwaizumi nodded and turned to walk away. “Have fun on your date!” Bokuto’s tone was teasing and he was grinning from ear to ear when Iwaizumi looked. Akaashi had a small smile on his face as well. 

“Have fun, Iwaizumi-san.” 

“Shittykawa?” Iwaizumi asked as he approached the outdoor stalls. A mop of messy brown hair appeared from behind a big palomino horse and Iwaizumi snorted at the sighed. Oikawa had mud smeared across his cheek and his hair was a mess with hay sticking out of it. 

“Iwa-chan! Hey! Wait, what time is it?” Iwaizumi looked down at his phone. 

“Um, 7:02.” Iwaizumi responded and Oikawa gasped, swearing. 

“Fuck! Okay okay! Give me ten minutes!” Iwaizumi laughed at Oikawa panicking and shook his head. 

“Take your time. I’ll take care of this mess while you go do whatever you need to do, alright?” Iwaizumi approached the stall Oikawa’s horse was in and Oikawa squeezed passed him. 

“I lost track of time, I’ll be back in a few! Thank’s Iwa-chan!” Oikawa hurried towards his trailer, leaving Iwaizumi with the horse. 

Iwaizumi had his own horse back home at his family's ranch but he was never very good at tending to it, leaving his parent's ranch hands to take care of Zilla. 

“Hello there…” Iwaizumi trailed off, not too sure of the horse’s name. The palomino snorted and turned it’s head just slightly and Iwaizumi caught sight of the word _Cosmo_ across the nose of the teal halter it had on. “Cosmo.” The horse stared at him and he moved swiftly into the pen, grabbing a grain pan and a brush bag that had been left there by Oikawa. He patted the horse on the nose a few times before escaping the pen, making sure to lock it behind him. 

Iwaizumi walked towards Oikawa’s trailer, testing out the back two doors. One of them led into a four-stall area for the horses and the other was for a small tack room. He dropped the grain pan on the floor of the room and then hung the brush bag up. 

He shut the doors when he was done and then he went and waited on the trailer step. 

Oikawa, being true to his word, only took a few minutes to get himself ready. Changing into a new, fresh pair of nice jeans and a faded teal long sleeve button up. He decided against wearing his hat after he fixed his hair and he grabbed his rodeo jacket from where it was hanging up near the door. He also grabbed his trailer keys and left the trailer. 

Iwaizumi stood when he heard the door open and he smiled at Oikawa as he descended down the two steps, landing on the grass just outside of the trailer with a small hop. Oikawa smiled brightly and turned to lock the door of his trailer. 

“Ready?” Iwaizumi asked, slipping his hands into his back pockets. 

“Sure!” Oikawa chirped excitedly. “I haven’t seen a meteor shower since I was fourteen.” Iwaizumi led Oikawa towards his sleek black Ford F150. 

“And how old are you now?” Iwaizumi asked and Oikawa raised an eyebrow at him as Iwaizumi pulled his keys out of his pocket, unlocking the truck. They climbed into their designated seats, Iwaizumi behind the wheel and Oikawa as the front passenger. 

“Oh right. Iwa-chan and I don’t know much about each other yet,” Oikawa hummed thoughtfully before smiling slyly. “I guess that’s what first dates are for, huh?” Iwaizumi couldn’t fight off the blush that rose to his cheeks. 

“So this is a date?” Iwaizumi asked and Oikawa nodded, a little unsurely. 

“Did you not mean it to be?” Oikawa asked suddenly and Iwaizumi shook his head. 

“No, no. Well, I mean yes? God! No okay, listen-” Oikawa laughed as Iwaizumi stumbled over his words. 

“Try again.” Oikawa urged, smiling as Iwaizumi took a deep breath before starting the truck. He turned and looked Oikawa in the eye before smiling. 

“I did mean for this to be a date. I just… I just wasn’t sure what you interpreted this as,” Iwaizumi said and Oikawa nodded in understanding. 

Iwaizumi turned forward again and licked his lips, shifting the truck into drive so they could leave the rodeo grounds. Oikawa turned to stare out of his window with a fond smile on his face. 

“To answer your question though, I’m twenty-one now. How old are you Iwa-chan?” Iwaizumi hummed in mild thought for a second, not registering that Oikawa had turned the question around on him. 

“Hm, oh! Um, yeah same. I was born on June 10th. I’m a Gemini,” he responded and Oikawa grinned. 

“You’re only about a month older than me! I was born on July 20th. I’m a Cancer. Do you believe in horoscopes?” Oikawa asked and Iwaizumi shrugged. 

Iwaizumi never dwelled too long on his star sign. Sure, there had been a few things that had been accurate about his horoscope but he didn’t think that everything said about being a Gemini defined him as a person. 

“Not really,” Iwaizumi shrugged. “I don’t think horoscopes are anything to live by. I mean, you can’t just blame the fact that you're in a mood on the fact that you're a Caprisun or whatever,” Oikawa let out a loud bark of laughter and Iwaizumi glanced at him, confused. 

“A caprisun?” 

“Yeah? You know the goat-mermaid thing?” 

“It’s _Capricorn_ Iwa-chan. Not caprisun,” Iwaizumi blushed, embarrassed. “And yeah, I agree. Though I do think there's something scientific behind Horoscopes.” Iwaizumi nodded. “Hey! How about we play 20 questions until we get to wherever we’re going for food?” Oikawa asked and Iwaizumi nodded in agreement. He didn’t see how it could hurt. 

“Sure, sounds good. You go first.” Oikawa hummed as he thought before turning in his seat to stare at Iwaizumi as he drove. 

“Okay. What made you pick Bull Riding over any other rodeo event?” It was a good question. Iwaizumi was half expecting Oikawa to ask his favorite color. “Is it because you have a small dick and need to compensate? I’ve seen plenty of bull rider’s dicks before and-” Iwaizumi rolled his eyes and shot a glare at Oikawa to shut him up. 

Oikawa grinned and held his hands up in mock surrender. 

“I don’t know, actually.” Iwaizumi said after a second. “My parents own a ranch that used to supply local rodeos with steers and my mom was a barrel horse trainer. I just kind of grew up with rodeos and when I was 15 I got on my first bull as a dare and I’ve been doing it since.” 

Oikawa watched Iwaizumi’s lips as he spoke, watching as he licked them nervously before and after he started and finished talking. Oikawa nodded in understanding. 

“How’d you get into Barrel Racing?” Iwaizumi asked, following up a second later. Oikawa shrugged and opened his mouth to speak, only to be cut off by Iwaizumi who glanced at him with a cocky grin. “Because you’re super bitchy and rude and wanted to make sure everyone knew?” 

Oikawa pouted. 

“Mean Iwa-chan!” 

“You started it, Trashykawa.” 

They smiled at each other, cheeks flushed and Iwaizumi broke eye contact, turning to focus on driving again. Oikawa felt giddy. 

“I uh, my best friend Makki, er- Hanamaki, his parents bought Cosmo for me and allowed me to run barrels with him in their arena after I voiced my interest a few days after watching a rodeo with them when I was younger. I owe my rodeo career to the Hanamaki’s.” Oikawa smiled fondly, thinking of his best friend and his parents. He should really call Makki soon and see how he is. 

“Hanamaki? I feel like my dad used to do business with someone with that last name…” Iwaizumi mumbled to himself. Oikawa barely heard him, so he didn’t bother to question him, instead, turning to look out the window only to have his eyes widen in excitement as he saw his favorite diner’s tall, brightly lit sign. 

“ARE WE GETTING FOOD FROM UKAI’S?” 

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

An hour and a half later, at 9:47 p.m., Iwaizumi had them parked on a local cliff clearing and they were organizing a pile of blankets into the bed of Iwaizumi’s truck so they could get comfy and lay down. 

“This is so romantic, Iwa-chan!” Oikawa cooed, as he watched Iwaizumi toss a blanket and position it so he was happy. The older man grunted in response, reaching for the next blanket which Oikawa handed to him happily. 

Iwaizumi folded it into a roll and placed it towards the front of the bed for a pillow. “C’mon, Shittykawa,” Iwaizumi turned around and stood on his tailgate. He reached his hand out for Oikawa to take, which the brunette did, and helped hoist him up. “Boots off?” Oikawa nodded and slipped his own boots off before crawling onto the makeshift blanket bed and laying down.

Iwaizumi followed a second after and took a deep breath, staring up into the sky. 

“What time is the meteor shower supposed to start?” Oikawa whispered and Iwaizumi turned his head to stare questioningly at him. 

“Why are you whispering?” Iwaizumi whispered back, confused.

Oikawa pursed his lips, staring back at Iwaizumi before shrugging and smiling. “Feels like an intimate moment. Like we need to… like we need to be quiet, y’know?” Oikawa asked, still whispering. 

Iwaizumi smiled and nodded, turning his head to look back into the sky. 

“Right, I agree. It’s supposed to start at 10. So ten minutes?” Oikawa didn’t respond, instead opting to stare into the sky with a content smile on his face as he looked at all the stars. 

Oikawa always appreciated the stars. He loved gazing up at them and thinking about how there had to be something more than just what was on earth out there. He always believed that aliens existed because it’d be silly for one intelligent race to be alive and thriving but for there not to be another. How could that even be possible? It just didn’t seem likely to him. 

“Iwa-chan?” Iwaizumi glanced over at his name being whispered but Oikawa wasn’t looking at him, seeing as he was too focused on the stars overhead. 

“Hm?” 

“Do you believe that there's something more out there?” Iwaizumi snorted.

“Are you asking me if I believe in aliens?” 

Oikawa nodded, a slight smile on his face. 

“I mean… I guess it’d make sense if there was something else out there. We can’t be alone in the universe, y’know?” Oikawa nodded again. “Do you believe in parallel universes?” Iwaizumi asked, countering Oikawa’s question. Oikawa smiled and turned to look at Iwaizumi. 

“I think so. Maybe we were childhood friends in another universe or something,” Oikawa said and Iwaizumi let out a breathy chuckle. 

“Yeah. Maybe.” 

“I think that- oh! Oh! Look Iwa-chan! It’s starting!” Oikawa pointed out overhead as little flashes began to move overhead. At first, Iwaizumi thought it was just shooting stars but they didn’t move as fast or disappear and he grinned. He’d never actually seen a meteor shower before. 

Iwaizumi glanced over to look at Oikawa. The brunette's lips were parted as he stared at the sky in awe, slightly glossy from licking his lips. Iwaizumi took note of how Oikawa’s cheeks were flushed and how his hair fell just right on the makeshift blanket pillow. He smiled softly as Oikawa’s long eyelashes fluttered and how his caramel-colored eyes were bright with excitement. Oikawa startled Iwaizumi out of his daze when he pointed and gasped. 

“So pretty…” Oikawa whispered. 

Iwaizumi let out a content sigh and smiled. “Yeah…”

Oikawa turned to say something to Iwaizumi in that moment and froze when he saw the other man already staring. Time felt frozen. The words on Oikawa’s tongue fell away as his brown eyes found themselves staring straight into Iwaizumi’s emerald eyes. Oikawa watched as the dark brunette licked his lips and leaned forward. 

Oikawa wasn’t one to kiss on a first date, but he was so down for what was about to happen. He closed his eyes and moved forward to meet Iwaizumi’s lips with his own. 

Oikawa could feel the heat of Iwaizumi’s breath and they were so close. Just another millimeter and-

The two jolted away from each other at the loud, startling ring of Oikawa’s cell phone. 

Iwaizumi blushed and sat up quickly, Oikawa following suit, pulling his phone from his pocket to deny the call and silence the device. 

But the name flashing across the screen made him frown and he apologized to Iwaizumi before answering the call. 

“Hello? Dai-chan?” Iwaizumi watched with confusion as Oikawa’s face morphed from annoyed and slightly upset to confused. “Woah, Daichi. Calm down. Cosmo-” Oikawa paled and nodded quickly. “Right. Iwaizumi and I will be there in-” Iwaizumi was already moving to stand up. He glanced at Oikawa who was looking at him with desperate eyes. 

“20 minutes.” 

“We’ll be there in 20.” Oikawa nodded one last time before hanging up the call and standing up. They grabbed the blankets, shut the tailgate, and got in the cab of the truck quickly. 

“Sorry about this, Iwa-chan. Cosmo and a few other horses were let out of their pens and Dai-chan and the others are having trouble catching them all,” Oikawa said and Iwaizumi nodded, starting the truck and throwing it into drive. 

“It’s alright.” Iwaizumi reassured, sending a smile Oikawa’s way to prove he wasn’t upset. 

“I’ll make it up on our second date. Promise!” Iwaizumi chuckled. 

“I’ll hold you to that.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I'm about an hour and 14 minutes late from having this out on Tuesday. But I think Tuesdays will be my update days! 
> 
> Also, I promise more actual rodeo content is coming. Expect it for chapter 4.
> 
> As always, if you enjoyed, please leave a kudos and maybe even a comment!  
> Thanks! And until next time on, 
> 
> Of Bulls and Barrels


	4. Ring of Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Well well. Look at that Semisemi! It’s Oikawa Tooru.” Oikawa froze. 
> 
> “Why can’t you Shiratorizawa shitheads just leave me alone? I have done nothing to you. So just fuck off, would you?” 
> 
> “Calm down boy. We’re just here enjoying the show."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Umm... this is rushed. I'm so sorry. 
> 
> I've been going through so much stuff right now and my mental health isn't the best. 
> 
> I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!! YOU KEEP ME MOTIVATED!

It took an hour and a half after Iwaizumi and Oikawa got back to the rodeo grounds to catch Cosmo, Rico, Gilligan, and both Hinata and Kageyama’s horses. Daichi claimed some teenagers had somehow gotten past everyone and let the horses go before Bokuto saw them and scared them off. 

Oikawa sighed and latched Cosmo’s pens gate closed. He wiped his hands on his jeans and frowned. These were his nice jeans and he had gotten them all dirty chasing after  _ Kageyama’s _ horse. That brat owed him. 

“Don’t look so happy,” Oikawa looked up at Iwaizumi’s voice and he smiled and rolled his eyes. “Seriously, you looked like you wanted to kill someone.” 

“If I fall in the mud chasing around Kageyama’s horse one more time, I just might have to murder someone,” Oikawa said with a passive shrug. Iwaizumi laughed. 

Oikawa took a deep breath and looked at the sky. No more meteors. 

“Hey, let me walk you back to your trailer?” Iwaizumi asked and Oikawa hummed, nodding in agreement. They walked slow. 

No words were shared between the two as they approached Oikawa’s sleek silver trailer. They stopped a few feet in front of the door and Iwaizumi shifted nervously on his feet. 

Oikawa bit his lip, suppressing a grin as he watched a blush grow on the other man's cheeks. 

“So uh… thank you? For coming with me tonight. I had a lot of fun.” Iwaizumi scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. He hadn’t been on a date in almost 2 years. He wasn’t sure how to do this. 

Oikawa reached and grabbed Iwaizumi by the front of his jacket, tugging him forward. Iwaizumi stumbled over his feet with a gasp but it was cut off with a quick kiss from Oikawa. 

“I had fun too. We’ll plan another date soon. Okay, Iwa-chan?” Iwaizumi nodded, unable to form words, and then Oikawa was turning to unlock his trailer. “I’ll see you tomorrow! Goodnight! Rest well!” 

“Goodnight Trashykawa. Get some sleep,” Iwaizumi turned around as Oikawa entered the trailer with one last little goodbye wave and started his way across the grass to his own trailer. 

He had gone into their date thinking it wasn’t a date but then it was a date. Then they almost kissed under the meteor shower in the back of his truck but they didn’t. But then Oikawa actually kissed him when they said goodbye. Iwaizumi grinned as he recalled the night's activities and hurried to get in his trailer and go to bed. 

The sooner he slept, the sooner he could wake up and spend more time with the brunette barrel racer. 

Tomorrow was a big day anyway, so he needed sleep no matter what. Daichi had said that he had a big announcement to tell everyone at tomorrow nights rodeo and Iwaizumi was feeling giddy and excited. He wasn’t sure what kind of announcement it was but Daichi looked excited when he told Iwaizumi about it. 

Iwaizumi opened the door to his trailer with a smile and quickly got ready for bed. 

He could tell tomorrow was gonna be a good day. 

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Oikawa woke up at 6:30 a.m. with a sudden burst of energy. Today was one of the official days that his barrel scores would count towards Nationals. 

Nationals always left a little bitter taste in his mouth as he thought back to each and every year he’d gone. There was always someone better than him there. Someone he and Cosmo couldn’t beat. 

Someone like Semi Eita, one of Ushijima’s friends. 

After Oikawa had surpassed Semi when they were younger, Ushijima pressured the blonde barrel racer to get better, and better, and better. And Semi did. They never competed directly against each other, being in different divisions as their rodeo circuits were on different levels, but now that Miyagi had grown so much, it was on the same level as Shiratorizawa and Oikawa would, without a doubt, be competing against Semi Eita (who, by the way, had won in his division 3 out of 4 times he’d gone to nationals.)

Oikawa sighed and rubbed his eyes as he stood up from his bed.

A frown lingered on his face as he showered quickly and finished his daily hair routine. He dressed fast and then looked around for his jacket, realizing that it was missing. 

“Must still be in Iwa-chan’s truck…” Oikawa mumbled to himself with a shrug. He slipped on a zip-up sweatshirt over his t-shirt and left the trailer to go take care of Cosmo. 

“Hey hey hey! Good morning, Tooru!” Oikawa smiled and waved at Bokuto who was giving Akaashi’s horse grain as he approached the stalls. “How was the date last night? It was a date, yeah? Oh shit! Was it not a date?” Bokuto suddenly back-tracked, panicked. 

“No no, it was a date. It was good. We had fun until Daichi called.” Oikawa smiled as he spoke. Bokuto nodded eagerly. 

“Yeah! How wild is it that some rando teens came and let the horses go. Who even does that? And in the middle of the night!” Oikawa laughed, his cheeks stretching in a grin. “Good thing I was coming to check on ‘Kaashi’s horse and I spooked them off before any more of the horses were let out.” Boktuo placed his hands on his hips proudly and Oikawa snorted. 

“Why were you checking on Akaashi’s horse? Everything okay?” Oikawa asked, suddenly hyper fixed on the black mare that Bokuto was tending to. She had her front left leg lifted slightly, putting her weight on her right side. 

Bokuto suddenly frowned. 

“Marina pulled a tendon the other night. That’s why ‘Kaashi’s run wasn’t so good. He’s getting some cold water to soak it in now but the vet said it’s been messed up for a while and there's a chance that Akaashi won't be able to ride Marina anymore.” 

Oikawa’s face fell at Bokuto’s explanation and he rested a hand on his own horse's neck. He knew his bond with Cosmo was unbreakable and he’d be devastated if that ever happened to them. He can’t imagine how Akaashi might feel right now. 

“How is Aka-chan taking that?” Oikawa asked. 

“He says he’s fine but I know Keiji. He’s heartbroken, To.” Bokuto moved to stroke his hand down Marina’s face. She snorted and leaned into the touch, nibbling with her lips on Bokuto’s fingers when they were close to her mouth. “Do you think you could talk with Keiji about it? Barrel racer to barrel racer? You’re his best friend Oiks, and frankly… I never know what to say.” Bokuto looked sad.

Hell, Oikawa was sad for Akaashi too. 

“Of course, Bo-chan,” Oikawa said, his head whipping over towards Akaashi as he approached carrying a bucket of water. Akaashi nodded at Oikawa with a sad smile and he entered Marina’s pen. 

“Good morning, Oikawa-san.” Akaashi greeted and Oikawa nodded with a smile. 

“Morning, Aka-chan!” Oikawa’s eyes followed as Akaashi kneeled next to the black mare. He lifted her hurt foot into the bucket and held it down so she wouldn’t pull it out. Bokuto was shushing the horse gently and Oikawa felt the need to turn away. 

Bokuto and Akaashi talked in hushed tones and Oikawa tried not to listen, opting to distract himself with Cosmo. 

The palomino horse stood next to him sleepily and it was when Oikawa went to brush Cosmo’s hair, he realized he hadn’t brought anything with him when he came over. He sighed and grabbed the empty teal hay bag from the fence before exiting the stall and walking back towards his trailer. Along the way, he spotted Iwaizumi talking with Daichi and Kiyoko with his arms crossed and a flushed face. Oikawa smiled and waved when Iwaizumi’s eyes landed on him. The shorter man waved back and then finished his conversation before jogging over to Oikawa. 

“What did Kiyo-chan and Dai-chan need?” Oikawa asked as Iwaizumi fell into pace with him. 

Iwaizumi shrugged. 

“Something about a knight? Since she’s the queen and all. I think it has something to do with the rodeo clowns? Nishinoya and Tanaka?” Iwaizumi shrugged but Oikawa’s mood shifted from sad to excited. He grabbed Iwaizumi’s arm and turned them so they were facing each other. 

“Are you her knight!? Did you say yes?” Oikawa asked suddenly. Iwaizumi, too shocked at the sudden outburst to form words, just simply nodded and Oikawa jumped excitedly. “This is great! We’ll be doing all sorts of skits together as knights Iwa-chan! It’ll be so much fun!” 

“Wait, skits? I can’t act!” Iwaizumi said suddenly and Oikawa chuckled, grabbing Iwaizumi’s wrist to lead him towards his trailer to fill the hay bag and grab a few other things. 

“Don’t worry Iwa-chan! It’s not that hard. We’ll have a quick meeting at around 3 with Daichi, Yachi, Kiyoko, Tanaka, and Noya before the rodeo to go over a few things. We’re really just there to play games and entertain the crowd before certain events!” Iwaizumi nodded as Oikawa explained, keeping his eyes trained on the soft hand wrapped around his wrist. 

“Okay… alright. That sounds… fine? Where are you taking me Shittykawa?” 

“Just to my trailer! Relax Iwa-chan, you’re so tense. I just need to fill Cosmo’s hay bag and grab my brush bag. Do you know how to braid?” Iwaizumi’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

Of course, he didn’t know how to braid. 

“No.” 

“I’ll teach you then! It’ll be fun. I promise!” Iwaizumi shrugged but followed behind Oikawa as he was drug along. 

Iwaizumi watched as Oikawa filled the hay bag and latch it with a large carabiner clip and then he watched the brunette disappear into the back of his trailer before emerging with his teal brush bag on his shoulder. Iwaizumi picked up the hay bag and slung it over his shoulder and the duo walked back over to Cosmo. Bokuto and Akaashi both greeted Iwaizumi with wide eyes and Akaashi sent Oikawa a questioning look that the brunette chose to ignore with a smile. 

Oikawa hooked the brush bag on the fence before grabbing the hay bag from Iwaizumi, showing the shorter man how to put it on the fence properly. Iwaizumi watched and nodded as Oikawa spoke and then they both turned their attention to Cosmo who was wandering over to eat some hay. 

“Okay,” Oikawa said, reaching over to open the brush bag. He pulled out a brush with weird bristles on it and he handed it to Iwaizumi who raised an eyebrow at it questioningly. “That, Iwa-chan, is Cosmo’s hairbrush. Before we can braid it, we have to brush his mane and tail out to get the tangles free.” Iwaizumi nodded and approached the eating horse, running the brush through his mane. Oikawa nodded and Iwaizumi got more confident, adding a little bit of pressure. 

“What if I hurt him by yanking it too hard?” Oikawa grinned and snorted. 

“I’m sure Cosmo appreciates the concern, Iwa-chan. But horses don’t have nerves in their hair follicles like we do. He’ll be okay!” Iwaizumi nodded, still a little unsure. He finished brushing Cosmo’s mane and then moved to the tail. 

“Jesus fuck, why is his tail so thick?” Iwaizumi said and he grabbed the horse's tail in his hand. He could barely get his hand all the way wrapped around it. Oikawa laughed. 

“I use a product called Cowboy Magic. It works wonders. Sometimes I wonder if I should use it on myself…” Oikawa hummed thoughtfully. 

Once Iwaizumi was done brushing, Oikawa grabbed a spray bottle out of the bag and moved to wet down Cosmo’s mane. He slipped the spray bottle into his back pocket and motioned Iwaizumi over. 

“Come.” Iwaizumi rolled his eyes but followed the command. He stood next to Oikawa who reached forward and grabbed a chunk of hair from near the top of Cosmo’s neck. “The brain we’re gonna do is called a waterfall braid. Do you know what that is?” Iwaizumi shrugged. 

“A braid that looks like a waterfall?” 

“Good guess. It’s gonna start at the top of Cosmo’s neck, by his ears, and it’ll be a straight braid all the way down to his back,” Iwaizumi nodded and watched as Oikawa’s fingers gently braided the horse's mane. 

This went on for a few minutes, then Oikawa swapped positions with Iwaizumi, letting him try to braid. The two laughed and joked around and Iwaizumi kept messing up and getting the hair all tangled again. Oikawa had to restart the braid 4 times before Iwaizumi just gave up and moved so Oikawa could finish it. 

All in all, Oikawa learned that Iwaizumi sucked at braiding and needed a few more lessons before he would be allowed to do Cosmo’s official rodeo hair. 

“Looking sexy, Cosmo.” Kuroo whistled as he came and stood on the outside of Cosmo’s stall. Kenma was with him, standing off to the side with his phone in his hands, playing a game. “Getting all fancy a little early, aren’t ya, To?” 

Oikawa shrugged. 

“I’m gonna take it out before our run anyways. So it’s curly.” Kuroo nodded and let his eyes wander over to Iwaizumi who was standing off to the side behind Oikawa awkwardly. 

“You two are getting awfully cozy, aren’t you?” Kuroo said teasingly. Both brunette's faces flushed. 

“We’re- I mean- 

“Shut up, Kuroo!” 

“It’s not nice to tease, Kuro.” Kenma chimed in, glancing up at Oikawa and Iwaizumi. Oikawa was suddenly very grateful for the quiet little barrel racer. 

“How’s the shoulder, Kuroo?” Iwaizumi asked, changing the topic. Kuroo nodded and rolled his shoulder a few times before flexing. 

“All good, Wazzy! I’ll be kicking your ass tonight. Fair warning.” Kuroo and Iwaizumi grinned at each other. 

“I’m looking forward to seeing you fail trying.” 

“Whaaaat. Your boyfriend is cocky as fuck, Tooru. You gonna let him berate me like that?” Kuroo whined, teasing Oikawa with the B-word. 

“We’re not dating, you jackass! Get out of here.” Oikawa said reaching through the fence to hit Kuroo in the arm. Kuroo dodged at lest second and Oikawa fell into the fence with a loud clatter. 

“Ooh, I’m too fast! Come on, Ken. Let’s go bother ‘Kaashi and Bo.” Kenma didn’t say anything as he followed after Kuroo who was cackling like a moron. 

Oikawa turned back to look at Iwaizumi who was watching after Kuroo with a small smile on his face. 

“My friends are dumb. Sorry about that, Iwa-cha-” 

“Hey, they're my friends now too, Shittykawa…” Oikawa’s eyes widened and he grew pale at his slip up. Iwaizumi’s smile had fallen and he looked slightly upset. Oikawa waved his hands quickly, trying to dismiss everything. 

“I know! I know! I’m sorry! It was a slip-up. I didn’t mean to make you upset at all or anything Iwa-chan! I honestly didn’t mean it. It was a mistake and-” Oikawa was cut off by being tugged forward harshly. Iwaizumi’s face was a few centimeters from his and Oikawa could feel his hot breath fanning over his face. 

“I know. Chill, Crappykawa.” Iwaizumi smirked and Oikawa flushed suddenly due to the close proximity. “I have to run to town. Wanna come?” Iwaizumi asked, pulling away suddenly. He slipped his hands into his back pockets and Oikawa stared at him, stunned. 

“I- yes?” Oikawa asked and Iwaizumi licked his lips, eyes raking down Oikawa’s body. 

“Cute hoodie. I’m gonna go grab my keys. Meet me by my truck in ten.” Iwaizumi left Cosmo’s pen and Akaashi, who was still with Marina called out to Oikawa, asking if he was okay.

“He- I thought- What the fuck was that Akaashi?” Oikawa asked and the other barrel racer shrugged. 

“Damn.” 

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

The two ended up spending a little longer in town than anticipated and only realized what time it was when Suga called Oikawa, asking “where the fuck” he was. The two then rushed back to the rodeo grounds, where they were met with a fuming Sugawara who was rushing them to get dressed into proper attire and so they could attend the meeting they needed to where Kiyoko, Yachi, Daichi, and the two rodeo clowns were already waiting for them. 

“We’re sorry! We’re sorry Suga-chan! We got distracted at the tack store!” Oikawa pleaded as Suga dragged the two towards the arena. Which was empty. 

“The rodeo starts in two hours, Suga-san. Calm down.” Iwaizumi said. Sugawara turned and glared at Iwaizumi, efficiently shutting him up, before squeezing his wrist harder and walking faster making both the men being pulled stumble over their feet to try and keep up. 

“Look who I found!” Suga’s mood changed as soon as they got close enough to Daichi who was having a casual conversation with Kiyoko and Yachi while Noya and Tanaka tried to get Kiyoko’s attention. 

“Oh, hey guys. Glad you’re here.” Daichi said as Suga let go of their wrists. Oikawa rubbed his wrist with a pout, seeing purple bruises show up where Suga’s fingers dug into his skin. Iwaizumi did the same, but without a pout. 

“Sorry, we’re late. I had to take care of some stuff in down and then Oikawa and I got distracted at the tack store.” 

Oikawa looked at Iwaizumi with narrowed eyes. It was Oikawa’s fault and Oikawa’s fault alone that they were late. Iwaizumi had been telling Oikawa that 3 o’clock was near and that they needed to get back but then Oikawa had kept pulling him around the store trying to decide if he should get Cosmo some horse paint to add a little galaxy on his butt for their run tonight. 

“That’s alright. We were only waiting for about 15 minutes. Suga, calm down.” Daichi said and Suga huffed in annoyance, crossing his arms. “Anyways, let's go over the plan for tonight, yeah?” Everyone nodded. “Kiyoko, Iwaizumi, and Noya. You three will start over by the bucking chutes. Yachi, Oikawa. You two will ride in on your horses. Tanaka-” 

“I jump down into the arena from the stands!” Daichi nodded. 

“Right. Suga, the scripts?” Suga nodded and pulled a folded bundle of papers from his back pocket. He handed them to Daichi who handed each person their respective script. 

Iwaizumi looked over the paper and with big eyes. “I get a sword?” 

Daichi nodded again, a smile gracing his lips. 

“Yeah. Speaking of that, we have suggested ending for this skit but ultimately it’s up to you six. Just let me know what you decide because I’ll act as the storyteller.” Daichi said and everyone nodded. 

“Let’s practice a little!” 

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

By the time 4:45 rolled around, the stands in the arena were already almost full and Iwaizumi was nervous. He was a bull rider. He wasn’t used to talking or acting in front of big crowds. He was there to ride a 1,500-pound animal that wanted to maim him. Not flaunt a plastic sword around and cause a scene. 

But Kiyoko chose him. 

So he was going to do it. 

That brought him to 5:50. He was standing next to Kiyoko and Noya, chatting idly as they waiting for Daichi to start everything off. 

“Alright alright, that was an amazing run done by Oikawa Tooru, wasn’t it?” The crowd cheered loudly. Iwaizumi clapped, smiling fondly. Oikawa had an amazing run with Cosmo today. They beat everyone with a solid time of 15.21. 

Oikawa would probably whine and say that was too slow, but he won and he really needed to start giving himself some credit. 

“You ready, Iwaizumi-san?” Kiyoko whispered as Daichi did his normal spiel about barrel racing and the winner and scores. Iwaizumi glanced at the black-haired girl and nodded with a smile. “I remember when I was the rodeo princess and had to do this for the first time. It was nerve-wracking. But it’s fun.” 

“The only thing I’m worried about is forgetting a line.” 

“Ah, you know the gist of it Wazzy. You can just improve it if you really wanna!” Noya said, bouncing excitedly. Iwaizumi nodded again. 

“Alright, now. I know the night is still young and you’re all ready to see some bull riding-” The crowd cheered loudly again. “But we’re gonna take a quick minute to make sure everything is ready to ensure our bull riders safety and the bulls safety. So, how about storytime?” Daichi asked. There were loud whoops and hollers and clapping. Iwaizumi smiled. 

“Alright perfect! We’ll start the story with this…” Daichi cleared his throat and turned his horse so he was facing Iwaizumi, Kiyoko, and Noya who all immediately got into character. Kiyoko’s horse began walking slowly and Iwaizumi held his hand on his fake sword, following along at the horse's side. Noya fell into a crouch, following them. All of them made sure their mics were turned on.

Both Kiyoko and Iwaizumi tried not to smile as they ignored Noya, pretending he wasn’t there when he clearly was. 

“Once upon a time in a kingdom far, far, super far away. There was a lovely Queen named Kiyoko. This queen was so kind and caring, she had all sorts of admirers and devoted followers. One of her most trusted followers and her closest friend, a young knight named Iwaizumi, was by her side through everything. Vowing to protect her with his life.” 

“Queen Kiyoko, your majesty. I swear to devote my entire being to keep you safe. I will lay down my life for yours.” Iwaizumi said, turning to kneel on one knee to Kiyoko. Kiyoko smiled down at him. 

“Knight Iwaizumi, please stand. There is no need to lay down your life for me.” 

Iwaizumi stood and he and Kiyoko kept walking towards where Tanaka was supposed to jump down. 

“One day, the queen and her knight decided to take a nice stroll through the castle's forest. But unbeknownst to them… there was something… no! Someone following them!” Daichi chuckled as Noya very over dramatically tiptoed behind Kiyoko and Iwaizumi. 

Tanaka’s head popped up from behind the railing of the arena’s seats and he leaped into the arena, spooking Kiyoko’s horse slightly. 

“Ah-ha! We’re here to kidnap the queen and kill you, Mr. Knight!” Tanaka shouted, pulling his fake sword out. He pointed it at Iwaizumi who glared at him menacingly. 

“Not if I have anything to say about it! I will lay my life down for her majesty!” Iwaizumi pulled his own sword out and slashed at Tanaka. Tanaka blocked the blow with his own sword and Noya laughed manically behind them. Iwaizumi pretended not to realize that Noya was leading Kiyoko’s horse away and took a harsh blow from Tanaka’s sword straight in the chest. He fell backward and coughed. 

The crowd gasped. 

“You worthless knight. You’re nothing compared to me!” Tanaka laughed before running off to join Noya and Kiyoko who were now back where they started. 

“The poor knight lay on the ground, bleeding to death, just losing his queen and his life to some lowlife commoners. The thought that the queen being harmed was almost enough to heal the man but he was still bleeding too much to do anything. BUT THEN!” Daichi said loudly and Oikawa trotted into the arena. Yachi followed closely behind. 

“Princess Yachi, this is quite ridiculous,” Oikawa whined. 

“Sir Oikawa. Queen Kiyoko and I have tea every Monday. You know this.” Oikawa nodded. 

“Then Princess Yachi and her loyal knight Oikawa came trotting down the road, ready to have tea with the queen. But Oikawa felt something like something was wrong.” 

“Princess, I feel as though something is wrong. I’m going to go ahead and make sure everything is okay, wait here.” Yachi nodded and stopped her horse. Oikawa trotted towards Iwaizumi and let out a very dramatic gasp. Oikawa leaped off Cosmo and kneeled next to Iwaizumi. 

“Princess! I’ve found the queens knight! He’s… he’s dead!” A little girl in the crowd started crying at the sudden claim and Oikawa almost broke character to laugh. Yachi came trotting up beside Cosmo and also got off her horse. 

“I have a healing herb! Here sir Oikawa! Use this to heal him!” Oikawa nodded and slapped Iwaizumi on the stomach with the herb. Which was actually just a small chunk of hay. Iwaizumi sat up with a gasp, knocking Oikawa on his ass. 

“I’m- I’m alive!?” Oikawa snorted at Iwaizumi making the shorter, now alive again man, kick Oikawa in the leg. 

“I saved you. You’re now forever in my debt.” Oikawa said teasingly. Yachi glanced around worried. 

“Sir Iwaizumi, where is her majesty Kiyoko?” 

Iwaizumi let his head fall in shame. 

“She’s… she was kidnapped. I wasn’t enough to save her. I failed.” Oikawa stood and reached a hand down to help Iwaizumi up. 

“No. I’ll help you get the queen back. Come on now, sir Iwaizumi!” Oikawa grabbed Cosmo’s reins and they began to walk towards where Tanaka, Kiyoko, and Noya were. Noya and Tanaka were teasing Kiyoko by pointing their swords at her while growling. 

“The queen's knight decided to team up with Oikawa and they started their adventure to track them down.” Daichi’s horse was now standing near the edge of the arena and Iwaizumi looked around seeing a bunch of little kids all paying attention very carefully. 

“There! I see the queen, sir Iwaizumi!” Yachi proclaimed suddenly, pointing at Kiyoko who rolled her eyes but cried out for help. 

“Iwaizumi! I thought they had killed you!” Kiyoko said, her tone worried. Damn, she was good at acting. 

“Oikawa saved my life, my queen. I am not indebted to him.” Iwaizumi said and Oikawa nodded proudly. 

“That’s right! Now put your hands up you fiends! Give us queen Kiyoko and we won't have to kill you!” 

The act went on for a few more minutes. Noya and Tanaka running around annoyingly, seemingly unkillable to Oikawa and Iwaizumi before the final showdown where Kiyoko and Yachi took the swords from the two knights, slaying the two annoying thieves. Then the two rode off into the distance with the story being over. 

“Well… thank you, you six for that… um, whatever that was! Let’s move onto the big stuff, yeah? Bull riding!” Daichi said into his mic. The crowd cheered wildly. Oikawa wished Iwaizumi luck before riding out of the arena. 

“Hey! Yachan. Do you think you can go put Cosmo on his lead and tie him to my trailer? I’ll be out there to take care of him in a second but I’d like to watch Iwaizumi’s ride.” Yachi nodded and jumped off Gilligans quickly. She grabbed Cosmo’s reins and lead both horses away from the arena. 

Oikawa quickly slipped inside of the seating area and found a spot in the box Suga was sitting in again. 

“You’re getting more into watching the bull riding. Does it have to do with a certain someone?” Suga asked teasingly as Oikawa sat down next to the silver-haired man. Oikawa shrugged. 

“Iwa-chan is… I think I like him, Suga-chan.” 

Suga hummed in response and they both fell silent as Daichi began to talk again. 

“Our first bull rider for the night is none other than Knight Iwaizumi! Give it up for Iwaizumi Hajime riding the bull Stingy!” The bucking chute was yanked open and a large brown bull came out bucking. Oikawa was honestly shocked that Iwaizumi and all the other bull riders didn’t get whiplash from riding such aggressive animals. But then again, even if they did get whiplash it was their own fault for choosing that event to compete in. 

Oikawa held his breath as he waited for the buzzer for 8 seconds to beep but it didn’t seeing as Iwaizumi was thrown off at the last second, getting a time of 7.96. So close. 

Oikawa huffed as he watched Iwaizumi scramble to stand up and get to the fence. The bull followed after him but Noya swooped in and distracted the bull long enough for Iwaizumi to safely climb up over the fence and back behind the bucking chutes. 

Oikawa watched as Iwaizumi pulled off the helmet and protective gear, handing it over to Bokuto who was set to ride after Kindaichi. 

“That was a good run,” Suga commented. 

“It was. He’s a very impressive bull rider!” Oikawa said, grinning. “I have to go take care of Cosmo. I’ll see you later Suga-chan!” Suga nodded and Oikawa wandered out of the arena.

“Well well. Look at that Semisemi! It’s Oikawa Tooru.” Oikawa froze and turned around, a glare already on his face. 

“Why can’t you Shiratorizawa shitheads just leave me alone,” Oikawa asked, placing his hands on his hips. “I have done nothing to you. So just fuck off, would you?” 

“Calm down boy. We’re just here enjoying the show.” Semi said, popping a handful of popcorn into his mouth as he and Tendou stared back at the brunette. “Nice run by the way. On a trail horse no less.” 

Oikawa could feel his eye twitch in annoyance. 

“Semi, Tendou. My father is done watching its time for us to depart.” Ushijima’s voice came from behind Oikawa. “Oh. Hello Oikawa. You had a very good run today. I will stand by my words when I say-” 

“I swear to god, if you say I should’ve come to Shiratorizawa, I will not hesitate to punch you in the face.” Oikawa’s patience was being tested. He really wished Hanamaki and Matsukawa were wish him. Or Kuroo and Bokuto. Hell, even Iwaizumi. 

“You said it, I did not. You should have.” 

“You boys ready to go? I got enough information on- OH! Tooru! It’s good to see you!” Takashi Ushijima said as he, Goshiki, and Shirabu rounded the corner. Oikawa waved weakly and Tendou and Semi walked around him to join everyone else. “You had a great run today. That old trail horse of yours is proving to be worth something, huh?” Takashi chuckled and Oikawa frowned deeply. 

“He’s a barrel horse now, Takashi-san. He had been since the day I got him.” 

“Hm, I suppose I can see how you’d think that. Listen, Tooru. We have a great supply of barrel horses at the ranch. Why don’t you come to take a look at them sometime soon? I’ll give you a call and we can talk things out later, alright?” Oikawa opened his mouth to protest but when he saw all of the Shiratorizawa rodeo crews faces, he snapped his mouth shut and put on a bright grin. 

“With all due respect, Takashi-san. It’s never going to happen. I’ll be beating Semi this year at nationals with my ‘old trail horse.’ Now, if you’ll excuse me. I need to go take care of him. I hope you enjoyed the rodeo.” Oikawa turned on his heel quickly, leaving the general vicinity of where the Shiratorizawa boys were standing. He heard Takashi ask them if he had said something wrong but Tendou was quick to shut him down and make fun of Oikawa. 

With a sigh, Oikawa walked to his trailer where Cosmo was tied, standing sleepily. 

“Fucking rich kids, huh ‘Mo? Gotta hate them…” Oikawa said as he began to un-saddle the big palomino. 

Oikawa un-saddled Cosmo and began brushing him, letting his mind wander to everything he’d experienced from the age of 15 to now. 

The Hanamaki family bought Cosmo for him and he put all his time, effort, and love into forging a bond with the horse at 15. At 16 Oikawa met Ushiwaka at a local rodeo and formed a massive crush on the stoic bull rider. At 17 Oikawa suffered a knee injury from a car accident and that prohibited him from barrel racing for nearly a year before he said ‘fuck it’ to his knee and raced anyways. At 18 he got into a relationship with Ushiwaka where he felt like a trophy boyfriend, being pampered and treated like he was less than Wakatoshi and all of his friends. Then at 19 Oikawa broke things off with Ushiwaka with the help of Takahiro and Issei. Then at 20, he grew into his own person, proud of himself and Cosmo’s accomplishments. And now, at 21, he was happy with his life being part of the Miyagi circuit. He had amazing friends and now Iwaizumi Hajime appeared and things were looking up. 

“Hey, Oikawa-san… are you alright?” Oikawa looked up quickly and noticed Yachi standing a few feet away with a wary look on her face. “Oikawa-san… you’re crying?” 

“Oh? Oh! I’m okay Yachan! Just got caught up in my head for a minute! Can I help you with something?” Oikawa said, wiping away his tears quickly. 

“Um… Sugawara-san said that the announcement is being made soon. I just- I know you- well-” 

“I’ll put Cosmo away and hurry in, Yachan! Save me a seat!” Oikawa said cheerily, his mood shifting completely. Yachi nodded and ran off towards the arena. Oikawa put all of his brushes away and then led Cosmo to his pen before following after Yachi. 

Suga smiled warily at Oikawa when he entered the box he was sitting in and Oikawa nodded, taking a seat next to Yachi. Hinata and Kageyama were talking on the other side of her but when Daichi’s voice cut in, everyone went quiet. 

“And that was the last bull rider of the night, Kuroo Tetsurou! Everyone did such an amazing job tonight and on behalf of the Miyagi Rodeo Circuit, we want to thank you all for coming out and sharing the night with us! We hope you enjoyed it! But one last thing before everyone heads out,” Daichi said in his announcer's voice. He grinned. 

“This year Miyagi is teaming up with the Shiratorizawa Rodeo Circuit for something we’re gonna call the Ring of Fire. The Ring of Fire is going to be a strict, TEAM calf roping only, a competition that our favorite rodeo stars and even you, can compete in. Of course, there will still be our regular rodeos, but the grand prize for winning the Ring of Fire is… This brand new truck!” A big, maroon dodge truck rolled into the arena and made its way around the oval. Everyone clapped and cheered. 

“The competition is open to anyone that wants a shot at winning. So please, head to either the Miyagi Rodeo or Shiratorizawa Rodeo circuit websites and sign up if you’re interested! Have an amazing night everyone!” The crowd cheered one last time before dispersing through all the exits. Oikawa turned with a glare and stared Suga down. 

“Really?” 

Suga looked taken back by the snappy tone Oikawa was using. 

“Sorry? What… what’s wrong Oikawa-san?” 

“You and Daichi are in charge of all this bullshit so why team up with Shiratorizawa? When you know-” Suga frowned but cut Oikawa off. 

“Oikawa… I know we’re your friends and Miyagi is where you feel safe, but this is about profits… Ushijima-san came to us with this proposition and we sprung on it. This will be good for everyone.” 

Oikawa shook his head and slammed his hands down on the table in front of him as he stood. Suga and Daichi were his friends yet they were allowing the people he despised most to join up with them for a joint competition. Oikawa knew Ushiwaka and Tendou we’re probably going to team up for the event. And he knew that Shirabu and Semi were going to team up.

But he wanted to crush them. 

He was GOING to crush them. 

All he needed now was a partner. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 4 of "Of Bulls and Barrels" 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter even though it was super rushed and not very good.   
> Much love! If you enjoyed, consider giving a kudos or leaving a comment? 
> 
> Thanks! Until next time on, 
> 
> Of Bulls and Barrels


	5. Phone Call

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just one of those chapters before it gets fun. 
> 
> -
> 
> “Ah, I’d love to… but I kind of have a breakfast date this morning,” Oikawa said hesitantly.
> 
> “A breakfast DATE? As in, you and another person? Going out? Together?” 
> 
> “Yes, Takahiro. A breakfast date. With a man. Who could possibly be a love interest.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delayed update! I've been dealing with some mental health issues. Plus i've just moved into my new apartment right before college so things are a little hectic. 
> 
> I do plan on getting chapter 6 out soon though. 
> 
> I PROMISE. 
> 
> Please enjoy! And if you haven't, please maybe consider leaving a kudos or maybe even a comment. It means the world to me! <3
> 
> Much love for all of you!

Kuroo and Bokuto leaned against Cosmo’s pen fence as they watched Oikawa brush the palomino horse's tail with an angry look on his face. Bokuto had suggested leaving a few times to Kuroo because Oikawa was starting to mumble things to himself and Bokuto was getting scared but Kuroo waved him off, assuring that Oikawa was just deep in thought and neither of them would be harmed. 

“Fucking- Ushiwaka and Tendou. Stupid Semi and Shirabu. Totally gonna crush them…” Oikawa cursed to himself, causing Bokuto’s eyes to widen and for him to yank on Kuroo’s flannel sleeve in alarm. 

“Bo, bro. It’s okay. Kawa is just stressed. It’s fine,” Kuroo said, shrugging the owlish man off his arm as the brunet turned to glare at them. “Oh shit, maybe not-” 

“Can you two blubbering dumbasses shut up while I contemplate about 5 peoples murders? It’s kind of hard to plan a massacre when you two are talking in the background. If it keeps up, I’ll add two more to the list-” 

“Woah Woah Woah, hey now. Who’s dying and why?” Iwaizumi asked as he approached the trio and Cosmo. Oikawa’s eyes widened and Bokuto latched onto Iwaizumi’s arm, hugging for dear life. 

“Kawa is threatening us! He said he’s going to kill us if we don’t shut up but we weren't even talking!” Bokuto exclaimed, making Iwaizumi chuckle. Kuroo watched the other bull rider lazily before straightening up. 

“We were just worried he was gonna do something he’d regret in the morning so we were keeping an eye on him but now that you're here to babysit, we’ll take our leave,” Kuroo said and Iwaizumi nodded. 

“Sure, sure. Makes sense. See you later, yeah?” Iwaizumi asked and Kuroo nodded. Bokuto wished the shorter man good luck with Oikawa and then he ran off calling Akaashi’s name saying that Oikawa was being scary. Kuroo snorted but waved goodbye to Oikawa and Iwaizumi before following after him shouting at him to stop being a drama queen. 

“So… who’s gonna die?” Iwaizumi asked, making Oikawa snort. 

“No one… I just had a run-in with the guys from Shiratorizawa and-” 

“Wait, seriously? What happened? Are you alright?” Iwaizumi asked, entering Cosmo’s pen. He ran his hand down Cosmo’s nose and then glanced curiously at Oikawa, prompting him to talk. 

“I’m okay,” Oikawa rolled his eyes when Iwaizumi shot a disbelieving look at him. “Seriously, I’m fine. Just frustrated is all. They think they're so much better than me because they all ride fifteen thousand dollar horses and I ride a horse that was five hundred from an auction.” 

Iwaizumi’s eyebrows furrowed as he frowned. 

“And then Takashi-san goes and says that I should take a look at the barrel horses they pay an overrated horse girl to train- like Cosmo is garbage! Did you see our score today! 15.21 Iwa-chan! Admittedly, not our best but-” 

“Hey now, no degrading yourself. You and Cosmo are an amazing team. I was so impressed, Oikawa. No seriously, don’t give me that look. I always thought barrel racing was just these snobby stuck up bitches that thought they were better than everyone else but you’ve shown me that you're more than that. You're passionate and strong. You have so much to be proud of, alright? You and Cosmo crawled from the bottom to the very top and that’s fucking amazing.” Iwaizumi said making Oikawa’s face turn bright red from being complimented. 

Cosmo snorted from where he stood and stomped his foot, catching both Oikawa and Iwaizumi’s attention. 

“I think he’s saying thank you…” Oikawa smiled, raking his hand down the palomino horse's tail gently. Iwaizumi smiled and let out a huff of air through his nose before patting Cosmo’s neck affectionately. 

“Anyways… Oikawa I came to ask you about the Ring of Fire. Do you think you’ll participate?” Iwaizumi asked and a determined look grew on the tall brunet's face. He nodded and turned to look Iwaizumi dead in the eyes. 

“I’m going to kick everyone from Shiratorizawa’s asses. I want to win. I want to show them all that even though I don’t have a fancy arena to practice in or super-duper expensive trainers commenting on my skills twenty-four-seven, that I am still a force to be reckoned with.” 

Iwaizumi’s eyes were blown wide at Oikawa’s sudden outburst but he nodded in agreement. 

“Yeah, yeah. Um, have you thought about who you're going to partner with? Since it’s a team only event?” Oikawa froze. He’d forgotten that it was a team roping event in the heat of wanting to destroy Ushijima and his team. 

“Ah- no. I kind of forgot that it was… a team only thing,” Oikawa mumbled looking away from Iwaizumi with an embarrassed blush on his cheeks. Iwaizumi snorted. 

“Right. Do you think you’d wanna team up with me? Maybe?” Oikawa’s eyes widened at the offer and he nodded, stunned. 

“Yeah, um, yes. For sure. That’d be awesome Iwa-chan! We’re gonna kick everyone's butts together!” Iwaizumi laughed and nodded in agreement. “God, how come I didn’t think of that? You’re so smart Iwa-chan!”

“It… not really. I just, I thought it’d be fun and I don’t really- er- well, you’re the only one that I think I could get along with long enough to actually attempt winning.” Iwaizumi said honestly and Oikawa grinned at him. 

Iwaizumi honestly couldn’t see himself being able to team up with Bokuto or Kuroo seeing as they probably would just mess around the entire time and not try very hard. Oikawa on the other hand was dedicated to winning and Iwaizumi admired that. He was hard-working, strong, and committed. As far as Iwaizumi could see, Oikawa rarely did things half-assed and that was a trait not a lot of people had so Iwaizumi was going to snatch up the best partner possible now before anyone else offered to be Oikawa’s partner. 

“Well, I’m honored you think that. We’ll talk more in the morning, okay? How about we go get breakfast at that little cafe in town? My treat!” Oikawa said as he turned to put the brush he was holding limply in his hand in Cosmo’s brush bag. He snapped the bag closed and hoisted it off the fence, shrugging the strap over his shoulder. 

Iwaizumi moved to open the gate to Cosmo’s fence and he exited before holding it open for Oikawa. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were asking me on a date,” He teased and Oikawa shrugged with a wink. 

“Accept my breakfast offer and unlock the answer to if it’s a date or not, Iwa-chan,” Oikawa teased back, making Iwaizumi snort but nod. 

“Alright, I’ll bite. Breakfast tomorrow, me and you. Is it a date?” 

“Sure is! If that’s okay with you… I don’t want to overstep or anything,” Oikawa walked out of the pen and Iwaizumi locked the gate behind him. 

“No, no. A breakfast date sounds perfect, Oikawa. You owe me, remember? Don’t think you can get out of that,” Oikawa laughed but nodded in agreement. 

“Sure, sure! Come now Iwa-chan, walk me back to my trailer?” Iwaizumi nodded and gingerly reached down to grab hold of Oikawa’s free hand. Oikawa startled at the sudden touch but smiled and intertwined his fingers with Iwaizumi’s. They both smiled to themselves as they walked in a comfortable silence towards Oikawa’s trailer, neither bothering to let go when they approached the back tack door.

Oikawa tossed the brush bag onto the floor and shut the door quickly, making sure it was locked before tugging Iwaizumi towards the front door. 

“It’s only,” Oikawa pulled his phone from his pocket and glanced at the time. “10:23. Do you want to come in for a bit?” Iwaizumi nodded and Oikawa grinned at him before unlocking the door and entering the trailer, tugging the shorter man in behind him. 

They dropped their hands and both kicked off their boots before Iwaizumi glanced around the large interior of the trailer, taking it all in. 

“Oh wow…” Iwaizumi gasped out as he looked around. Oikawa’s trailer had a queen size bed up in the nose of the trailer and the ceiling above the bed was a mirror with little glow in the dark stars plastered over it. There was a slide-out in the wall with a dining table with two booth benches that Iwaizumi assumed turned into a bed and across from it on the other side of the trailer was a long leather couch built into the floor. Next to the dining table in the slide-out was the kitchenette with a comfortable amount of counter space that was full of random keys, cereal boxes, and a few random pieces of clothes. The kitchen sink was there too and further into the trailer was a full bathroom with a standing shower, a toilet, a closet, and a bathroom sink. The damn trailer even had a fake fireplace right next to the door along a wall of cupboards. 

“Damn, Shittykawa. This is-” 

“A gift from my parents. They wanted me to be comfortable with where I was living. Silly Iwa-chan. Come and sit with me,” Oikawa said, cutting off the shorter brunet. Iwaizumi turned to look at Oikawa again, who was now sitting on his couch, patting the spot next to him for Iwaizumi to sit down. 

Which Iwaizumi did gladly. 

“Do you want to watch a movie?” Oikawa asked as Iwaizumi plopped down next to him. Iwaizumi shrugged and nodded. 

“Sure, that sounds good,” Oikawa nodded and grabbed the remote from where it was sitting on the couch next to him. Iwaizumi rubbed his arm self-consciously as Oikawa began clicking through movies on Netflix. 

“What kind of movies tickle your fancy?” Oikawa asked and Iwaizumi shrugged. 

“I dunno. I’m not really a movie watcher,” Iwaizumi said honestly and Oikawa frowned. 

“We’ll have to change that then, won’t we? How about… oh! What about WALL-E?” Iwaizumi shrugged. He’d never seen it or heard of it so he didn’t mind either way. 

“Sure, that sounds good.” 

Oikawa nodded and changed the streaming app on the tv to Disney+. 

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

As the movie played, Iwaizumi couldn’t help but not pay attention to the screen. The brunet beside him was captivating as his face changed color with the help of the tv screen. Oikawa had long eyelashes, pretty lips, high cheekbones, light freckles if you looked close enough, and even a little scar above his lip. 

Iwaizumi licked his lips nervously as he watched Oikawa’s wide eyes watch the screen. They were a pretty shade of light brown, almost a honey color that Iwaizumi thought was stunning. He found it unfair how someone could be so pretty without even trying. 

“Iwa-chan? Are you even watching? How are we going to make you a movie watcher if you don’t even pay attention to what’s happening?” Iwaizumi was snapped out of his concentration as Oikawa turned to face him suddenly. Iwaizumi’s face heated up and his eyes were blown wide. “Oh… Iwa-chan, were you admiring my beauty?” 

Iwaizumi rolled his eyes and turned away from the man next to him, choosing to cross his arms and ignore his teasing completely. 

“Hey! Don’t ignore me!” 

Iwaizumi narrowed his eyes on the screen and Oikawa whined again, latching onto his arm and resting his cheek against Iwaizumi’s shoulder. Iwaizumi glanced down at the brunet leaning on him and he quickly looked away after seeing Oikawa’s pretty brown eyes wide with a pleading look. 

“Iwa-chaaaaaan~” Oikawa whined again and Iwaizumi shook his head. 

“No. Watch the movie, Shittykawa.” 

“So mean, Iwa-chan. I just want your attention on me again because I didn’t get to savor it the first time,” Oikawa said as he snuggled into Iwaizumi’s side. The older man sighed but lifted his arm out of Oikawa’s grasp, earning a whine of protest, to move it to wrap around Oikawa’s shoulders so he could get closer. That made Oikawa hum happily. 

The two continued to watch the movie in content silence, sometimes Oikawa whispering the lines of the movie occasionally before Iwaizumi felt himself blinking sleepily as he stared at the screen. 

“Kawa,” Iwaizumi whispered, causing the brunet to yawn and look up at him in confusion. “Hey, let me up.” 

“Mm? No… comfy.” 

Iwaizumi rolled his eyes and took his arm from around Oikawa’s shoulders. Oikawa whined and clung onto Iwaizumi’s shirt. 

“Iwa-chan, no. Cuddle please,” Oikawa whispered and Iwaizumi had to look away. Sleepy Oikawa was super cute. “Where are you going?” 

“I need to go back to my trailer now before I pass out here,” Iwaizumi explained, trying to move Oikawa away from his body. 

“No no no, stay here tonight. It’s fine,” Iwaizumi snorted and as much as the offer tempted him, he kept in mind that they’d only known each other for less than a week. 

“Really Shittykawa, I’d love to but we’ve only been on one date, kissed once, and we don’t even know each other's favorite colors. I think we should focus on getting to know each other more before we spend the night together,” Iwaizumi said, actually standing up. Oikawa fell face first onto the couch where Iwaizumi was sitting just moments before and Iwaizumi snorted. 

“We can change that. My favorite color is ocean blue. Not like dark ocean blue though, the kind of greeny ocean blue. And come here, I’ll kiss you silly if it means you’ll stay and cuddle some more,” Oikawa said, turning his face to look at Iwaizumi as he got his boots on. 

“My favorite color is grey,” Iwaizumi said simply. 

“That’s not even a color! It’s a shade! Iwa-chan, NO! Do not step foot out there without a goodbye hug!” 

Iwaizumi rolled his eyes and extracted his hand from the door handle of Oikawa’s trailer, moving back over to the brunet to pull him into a sitting position. 

“Goodnight, Oikawa.” 

Oikawa kneeled on the couch and wrapped his arms around Iwaizumi, burying his face into the crook of the standing man's neck. Iwaizumi hugged Oikawa back and pressed a soft, barely noticeable kiss on the side of his head near his ear before whispering: 

“Goodnight Tooru. Sleep well. I’ll see you in the morning,” Oikawa nodded and planted a kiss on Iwaizumi’s cheek as they pulled away from one another. 

“See you tomorrow morning Iwa-chan. I’ll meet you at your trailer at 8:00? Sound good?” Oikawa asked and Iwaizumi nodded, nearing the door again. 

“Can’t wait. See you tomorrow, sleepyhead.” 

Oikawa watched as Iwaizumi left his trailer before smiling to himself and shutting the movie on the tv off. He yawned again and blinked the sleepy tears out of his eyes before standing up and changing into pajama pants. He glanced towards his bathroom, debating on if he should brush his teeth before bed or just climb up and pass out but opted that dental hygiene would be better than the chance at potentially getting a cavity and needing to see the dentist. He hated the dentist. 

Iwaizumi on the other hand, after he left Oikawa’s trailer, glanced down at his phone to check the time. 12:17. Kuroo and Bokuto were probably still up somewhere. It was now just a matter of finding out where they were hanging out and tracking them down.

** To Kuroo Tetsurou: **

Where are you at? I have a favor to ask you and Bokuto. ASAP

Iwaizumi sighed and he pressed send and began to walk towards his truck to make sure he grabbed everything out of it before locking it for the night. His phone dinged and he grinned. 

** From ** ** Kuroo Tetsurou: **

harassing Daichi and Suga over at the office. pop on in and give them some shit w/ us an we can talk

Iwaizumi read the message before shoving it in his pocket and turning to walk towards the arena’s main office that was attached to the large barn. He passed stalls of horses before finally coming face to face with the office door and he shoved it open, startling Bokuto who was sitting next to it in one of the chairs. 

“Iwaizumi! Good to see you!” Suga said from where he was perched on top of the big wooden desk. Daichi was leaning back in the office chair with an annoyed look on his face and Iwaizumi grinned. 

“You look happy,” Iwaizumi commented as he sat down in the chair next to Bokuto. “Where’s Kuroo?” 

“Just left. He’ll be back in a few, something to do with Kenma. Why do you need him?” Bokuto asked, eyes narrowing. 

“I told him I needed to talk to you two before I came in. Just curious. Anyways-” 

“Anyways, you did wonderful today Iwaizumi! You played the role of being Kiyoko’s knight well,” Suga complimented and Iwaizumi blushed, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. 

“Yeah… it was definitely something. Kind of embarrassing honestly,” Iwaizumi said and Daichi snorted, nodding in agreement. “I didn’t hate it though? There was this little girl in the crowd that got super into the story… it was cute.” 

Suga hummed in agreement.

“Well, that was a good trial run then. You’ll be even better for whatever story Daichi comes up with next. We’ve been thinking of making them crowd interactive, what do you think?” Suga asked and Iwaizumi shrugged. 

“It’d be fun. Y’know, to get like, little kids involved or something. Oikawa would probably get a kick out of it,” Iwaizumi said and Daichi nodded, leaning forward to scribble something down on an open notebook. 

“Speaking of Oikawa… You’ve been spending an awful lot of time with him these past few days, have you not?” Iwaizumi nodded, eyes wide at Suga’s sudden statement. “That’s good. Oikawa is an amazing barrel racer. He’s always been a little lonely too. Though he does hang out with Kunimi, Kindaichi, and Yahaba quite a bit when he has the time.” 

Iwaizumi knew Kindaichi and Kunimi. They were good kids. Both 19 years old, sometimes they’d watch him practice bull riding, and sometimes Kindaichi would join in. Kunimi didn’t enjoy practice though, opting to run gate or sit on his horse to guide the bulls back to return pens. Iwaizumi actually really enjoyed their company, how Kindaichi got easily flustered at simple words of praise, and how Kunimi literally didn’t give a single shit about anything he had to say. 

“Oikawa’s fun. I enjoy spending time with him. I want to get to know him more…” Iwaizumi trailed off, thinking back to the sleepy brunet he’d just parted ways with a few minutes ago. Suga smiled at him and Daichi coughed. 

“Well, Oikawa is a good guy. He deserves to be happy and we’ve only known you for a few weeks Iwaizumi, but your family now and we want you to be happy too. If you can make each other happy, then by all means. Go for it. The entire circuit had your back, I'm sure of it.” 

“Right…” 

“Oh, speaking of Oikawa, Iwaizumi. Next time you see him can you send him my way? I think I need to apologize to him,” Iwaizumi nodded. “Thank you.”

“Alright bitches, I’m back- Oh, hey Wazzy, what’s up?” Kuroo slammed the door open and sauntered into the room, grinning at Iwaizumi when he noticed him. 

“Hey.”

“What was it you needed to talk to Bo and me about?” Iwaizumi nodded, remembering why he was there in the first place. 

“I need you two to do a favor for me. If you’re willing to.”

Kuroo and Bokuto glanced at one another before smiling. 

“Sure buddy. You’ll be indebted to us though, keep that in mind,” Iwaizumi rolled his eyes. 

“Yeah, whatever. Anyways…”

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Oikawa groaned into his pillow as his alarm on his phone startled him awake. He yawned and picked his head up, grabbing his phone to shut the alarm off before checking the time with blurry eyes. 

6 in the morning. 

Lovely. 

But being a rodeo star meant lots of early mornings. He should be used to it by now. 

“Fuuuuuuck,” Oikawa groaned and slammed his head into his pillow. He needed to take care of Cosmo, then shower and get ready for his breakfast date with Iwaizumi. 

Breakfast date with Iwaizumi!

Oikawa sat up quickly and crawled down from his bed, changing quickly into a pair of stained jeans, a hoodie, his boots, and his tan cowboy hat before exiting his trailer excitedly. 

He walked to the back of his trailer and opened the two doors, getting a hay bag and Cosmo’s grain dish ready. He hoisted the hay bag over his shoulder and held the grain pan like a server tray and he began his walk over to the Palamino’s stall. Akaashi was awake as well, already soaking Marina’s hoof in warm water. 

“Good morning Aka-chan!” Oikawa said as he slid Cosmo’s grain pan into the stall with his boot. Cosmo got busy eating and Oikawa slipped in to change the hay bag. Akaashi smiled tiredly at him. 

“Good morning, Oikawa-san.” 

“How is everything?” Oikawa asked, leaning against the fence. Akaashi stood up and sighed, straightening his back. 

“The vet says I might not be able to ride Marina again…” Akaashi said, his smile falling as a sad frown etched itself on his face. Oikawa frowned. “If I can’t ride her, I think I’m going to quit Barrel Racing.”

“What?” Oikawa bit out harshly before shaking his head. “Um, sorry. I mean, why not?” 

“Marina has been with me since the start of my barrel racing career. I don’t… I don’t know if I’ll be able to ride another horse like I’m able to ride her,” Akaashi said, frowning. 

Oikawa’s eyebrows furrowed. 

“Akaashi, you’re an amazing barrel racer. It’d be a shame if you stopped riding. I’m sure if Marina could talk, she’d tell you the same thing. I… I’ve never ridden a horse beside Cosmo but if I had to retire him early, I don’t think I'd quit. I’d want to keep going to make him proud. I know it’s different for everyone, but seriously… maybe consider another horse? You don’t have to make any decisions too quickly but maybe just consider it. I’d hate to lose such a worthy competitor,” Oikawa was serious, turning joking towards the end. Akaashi smiled at him again and nodded. 

“You’re right. I’ll talk with Bokuto-san about things… your words are appreciated, Oikawa-san. Thank you,” Oikawa nodded. 

“No problem, Akaashi! I really want to see you keep going! You’re one of my closest friends and-” 

“Hey hey hey! Good morning ‘Kaashi!” Bokuto came walking over, a grin on his face. “Oh hey, To.” Bokuto glanced back and forth between the barrel racers and his eyes widened. “Am I interrupting? Oh shit! I’m sorry.” 

“No no, you’re good Bo-chan! Just a nice leisurely chat,” Oikawa grinned at him, pushing his body away from the fence. By now Cosmo was done eating his grain and was picking at hay from the hay bag. “Have a good day!” 

Oikawa picked up the grain pan and exited the stall with the promise to Cosmo that he’d be back to clean the pen later in the day. Akaashi and Bokuto wished him well and then he was off to his trailer to shower and get ready for his date with Iwaizumi. 

He was honestly kind of surprised with himself. He wasn’t one to get close with potential love interests after his and Ushijima’s break up but Iwaizumi had somehow been different. People usually swooned and fell at his feet but the first words Iwaizumi had said to him were an insult and that caught Oikawa’s attention. 

Maybe he was rushing things, but he hadn’t dated in over a year and he was feeling like it was time to get back into the game. 

Iwaizumi was kind, passionate about rodeo, and he knew what to say to Oikawa to keep his spirits up even though they’d only known each other for a few days. Honestly, Oikawa wishes he’d have met him sooner. 

Oikawa was shaken from his thoughts as his phone rang violently in his pocket as he entered his trailer and he pulled it out, not bothering to check the caller ID before answering. 

“Hello?” 

_ “KAWA!! HEY! How’s it going? Long time no talk? Have you forgotten about me and Mattsun?”  _ Hanamaki’s voice was loud and Oikawa was forced to pull his phone away from his ear to avoid going deaf. 

“No of course not, Makki-chan! How are you? Are you home from vacation yet?” Oikawa asked, putting his phone on speaker and setting it on the counter. 

_ “Oh yeah, Issei and I got back last night. Hawaii was great, dude. I’m so tan now,”  _ Hanamaki said, making Oikawa snort.  _ “Anyways, Mattsun and I are in town. You wanna meet up for breakfast or something?”  _

“Ah, I’d love to… but I kind of have a breakfast date this morning,” Oikawa said hesitantly.

_ “A breakfast DATE? As in, you and another person? Going out? Together?”  _

“Yes, Takahiro. A breakfast date. With a man. Who could possibly be a love interest.” 

_ “Oh this is fantastic, wait till I tell Issei! Dude, when do we get to meet him? Is he hot? Big dick? How long have you two been at it? When’d you meet? How’d you meet? I thought you were still fucking around with that one buckle bunny?”  _

“No buckle bunnies here, Makki-chan. You know I don’t like girls,” Oikawa sighed, rolling his eyes. 

_ “Yeah yeah, details and shit. Okay, well. Mattsun and I are going to tomorrow night's rodeo. We expect to see you and Cosmo wipe the arena with those other barrel racers, yeah?”  _

Oikawa nodded. 

“Of course. I can’t let stupid little Tobio-chan beat me.” 

_ “Good. Alright, anyways. We’ll uh- Issei knock it off, I’m talking to-”  _ Hanamaki’s voice was cut off and Matsukawa’s took over. 

_ “Tooru! Hey, so we’ll see you later. Text us tomorrow and we’ll figure out a time to link up after the rodeo, okay?”  _

“Sure, Mattsun. See you guys-” The phone line died out and Oikawa blinked down at his phone. Matsukawa hung up on him. “Okay then?” Oikawa shrugged. He needed to get ready for his date. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little life update for those who actually read these. 
> 
> 1\. OIKAWA AND I SHARE A BIRTHDAY (so like, thats cool.)  
> 2\. I moved into my new apartment and my college classes start in a few days.  
> 3\. I have been dealing with some personal issues so things are kind of weird right now.  
> 4\. Um, I have about 15 half written one shots for Haikyuu and if you're ever curious about thosee.... like, let me know cause I will defo write them out and post them. 
> 
> thats about it i guess. my life is kind of bland <3
> 
> THANKS FOR READING AND UNTIL NEXT TIME ON, 
> 
> Of Bulls and Barrels.


	6. Makki, Mattsun, and Zilla

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “No, no. Poor Iwa-chan was so embarrassed and red! It was cute,” Oikawa said as his jam tower fell over. He began to re-construct it. “I’m sure you can last much longer than 8 seconds. In fact, I plan on putting that to the test. Along with the whole you having a small dick theory.”
> 
> “I- um- Oikawa-” 
> 
> “Yo, yo, yo! What’s up, party people!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter we get the Seijoh 3rd years. 
> 
> Hanamaki and Matsukawa are my babies and I love them. 
> 
> Um, also Zilla is a cutie <3

Oikawa knocked on Iwaizumi’s trailer door at 7:55 a.m. after spending an hour getting ready. Iwaizumi opened the door with his toothbrush still in his mouth and he smiled, stepping aside to let Oikawa in. 

“Good morning, Iwa-chan!” Oikawa said as he closed the door behind him. Iwaizumi said a gargled good morning back and then spit his toothpaste into the sink, rising off his toothbrush. He took a drink from a water bottle and spit into the sink making Oikawa crinkle his nose in disgust. 

“Sorry ‘bout that. Anyways, you ready?” Iwaizumi asked as he sat down on the couch to pull his boots on. Oikawa nodded excitedly. 

“Yes! I’ll drive, okay?” Iwaizumi nodded and stood, grabbing his cowboy hat off the table and placing it on his head. Oikawa watched his every move and Iwaizumi opened the door for Oikawa, smiling at the brunet as he passed. “Thank you~” 

“Sure. So, where has the great Oikawa Tooru decided to bring me for breakfast?” Iwaizumi asked as they walked side-by-side towards Oikawa’s truck. Oikawa hummed thoughtfully. 

“There’s a little breakfast diner I like near Ukai’s. It’s called Nekomata’s. Ever heard of it?” Oikawa asked and Iwaizumi shook his head no. “Perfect! My friends and I meet there once in a while to catch up. It’s got great food!” 

“Sounds good,” Iwaizumi said as they both got into the truck. 

The drive was filled with a pleasant silence, both men basking in the other’s presence. Oikawa smiled. He liked not having to keep up constant conversation. 

“You know, now would be a perfect opportunity to get to know each other,” Iwaizumi said and Oikawa nodded in agreement. “So how about a continuation of our game of 20 questions?” 

“Sure! I’ll start then. Iwa-chan, do you have any siblings?” 

“No, none. Do you?” 

“That’s not how the game works. Unless you want to use that as one of your questions?” Oikawa grinned over at Iwaizumi who rolled his eyes with a smile. 

“Whatever, I’ll use it as one of my questions. So do you?” Oikawa nodded. 

“I do. I’m the youngest. I have an older sister and an older brother. My sister’s name is Seki and my brother's name is Taro. Taro is the oldest, then Seki, then me. And Seki has a kid! His name is Takeru and he’s going to grow up to be a rodeo star someday too!” Iwaizumi watched Oikawa speak excitedly and he smiled. 

“That’s awesome. I can’t wait to meet them someday,” Iwaizumi said, making Oikawa blush. They’d only known each other for a few days but Iwaizumi was already thinking of meeting Oikawa’s family. 

“Okay then Iwa-chan. What’s your favorite animal?” 

“This is going to sound conceited but I really like bulls.” Iwaizumi said, making Oikawa laugh. He should have figured so. “Alright, my turn… um, who’s your best friend?” 

“My best friends are Hanamaki Takahiro and Matsukawa Issei. I’ve known them since middle school. Makki-chan’s family are the ones who got Cosmo for me and they’ve both just been there to support me for forever,” Iwaizumi nodded. He’d heard Oikawa talk about the two before. He thought he recognized the Hanamaki family name. 

“Anyways, Iwa-chan! How about you? You’re new to the Miyagi circuit rodeo so who’s your best friend?” 

Iwaizumi froze. He didn’t really have a best friend. 

“Oh uh… I don’t know. I’m good friends with a guy called Kawanishi Taichi but I haven’t seen him since we split from the Hyogo Rodeo circuit. We joined around the same time and left at the same time and we were both bull riders so we just kind of hung out with each other? I dunno,” Iwaizumi said and Oikawa nodded with squinted eyes. He’d seen that name somewhere but he wasn’t sure where. 

“I see. Anyways! We can finish our question game later! We’re here, Iwa-chan!” Oikawa said as he turned and pulled into a fairly empty parking lot in front of an old looking diner. They parked and got out, Iwaizumi pulling open the diner door for Oikawa. 

“Noooo! Iwa-chan, shut the door!” Iwaizumi furrowed his eyebrows but did as instructed. 

“Why?” 

“Cause you’re my date and I want to open the door for you!” Oikawa pushed Iwaizumi away and pulled the door open for him. Iwaizumi rolled his eyes but entered with a quiet thank you and a blush on his cheeks that made Oikawa grin widely. 

“You’re welcome Iwa-chan! Come on, pick a spot! This place has a mean American breakfast menu.” 

They ended up in a booth near the back corner and Oikawa ordered them both a mug of hot chocolate (which Oikawa claimed was the best hot chocolate in all of Miyagi). The waitress, an old woman with grey hair and wrinkles but a kind smile came over to them. 

“If it isn’t Oikawa Tooru! I haven’t seen you here in a while. How’ve you been, honey?” The old woman asked and Oikawa grinned at her. 

“I’ve been great Kyo-chan! How’s the diner been?” 

“Oh, it’s been okay. Slow. You and those boys, Issei and Takahiro, brought in those hordes of customers. All the girls from after your rodeo practices,” Kyo said, making Oikawa hum in acknowledgement. Iwaizumi stared at Oikawa with a fond smile as he spoke with the old woman. 

“Well Makki and Mattsun just got back from vacation so I’ll be sure to drag them in sometime soon!” Kyo nodded in agreement before turning to Iwaizumi. 

“Who is this handsome young man, Tooru?” Oikawa looked at Iwaizumi and winked. 

“This is Iwaizumi Hajime. He’s a bull rider at the rodeo. He knows how to stay on ‘em,” Oikawa said with a wide grin and Kyo laughed before pulling a little notebook from her apron. 

“You know what they say about bull riders, don’t you?” Oikawa’s face fell but his lips quirked up as she winked at the both of them. “They only last 8 seconds,” Iwaizumi’s mouth fell open at the joke but Oikawa laughed harder than Iwaizumi has ever seen him laugh, wiping little tears away from his eyes as Kyo chuckled at her own joke. She turned to Iwaizumi and swatted at his arm. “Oh, I’m just jokin’ honey. I’m sure you last much longer than 8 seconds.” 

Iwaizumi’s face erupted into a blush and he hid his face in his hands with a groan as she and Oikawa laughed together at his embarrassment. 

“Anyways, dolls. What can I have old man Nekomata make for ya?” 

“I’ll have… blueberry french toast with a side of scrambled eggs and bacon, please?” Oikawa barely glanced at the menu. Kyo nodded and wrote his order down as Iwaizumi scanned over the menu for something that caught his eye. 

“Can I get the number 4? Strawberry crepes with diced hash browns and bacon?” 

“Of course, sugar. I’ll be back soon with your hot chocolates,” Kyo said before she walked back towards the counter. Iwaizumi watched her walk away and when he turned to look at Oikawa, the brunet was already staring at him with a smile and bright eyes. 

“What Shittykawa? Gonna poke more fun at me for the 8 seconds joke?” Iwaizumi teased and Oikawa shook his head no before reaching over into the little salt and pepper tray to pull out some jam packets. He started stacking them on top of each other. 

“No, no. Poor Iwa-chan was so embarrassed and red! It was cute,” Oikawa said as his jam tower fell over. He began to re-construct it. “I’m sure you can last much longer than 8 seconds. In fact, I plan on putting that to the test. Along with the whole you having a small dick theory,” Iwaizumi’s mouth fell open again as Oikawa spoke. He didn’t look at all embarrassed by his words. 

“I- um- Oikawa-” 

“Yo, yo, yo! What’s up, party people!” Iwaizumi was suddenly squished even further into his booth as a body slid into the seat next to him. Oikawa’s eyes were blown wide as he stared at the person next to Iwaizumi in horror. 

“What the fuck, Makki.” 

“Is that any way to greet your best friend?” Iwaizumi turned his head to look at who was next to him. The man, Makki or Hanamaki, had strawberry blond hair and a grin on his face. Hanamaki suddenly turned to look at Iwaizumi. “Oh, this must be the potential love interest. How you doing, I’m Hanamaki Takahiro but all my friends call me Makki.” 

Iwaizumi nodded, stunned. “Um, Iwaizumi Hajime,” Hanamaki nodded and turned back to Oikawa. 

“He’s hot. I approve. For now at least. How’d you meet?” 

“Where’s Matsukawa?” 

“Eh? Oh, he went to the bathroom. How’d you meet, Iwa?” 

“Oh, uh. We rodeo together on the Miyagi circuit. I’d always heard about his royal bitchiness Oikawa Tooru the barrel racer but I only met him at a party a few days ago,” Iwaizumi said and Hanamaki snorted as Oikawa whined in protest at the nickname.

“His title of Grand King still following him around?” Iwaizumi nodded and leaned back, suddenly comfortable with Hanamaki’s presence. 

“Yeah, the younger guys like Kunimi and Kindaichi call him that. I don’t understand why though.” 

Hanamaki glared at Oikawa. 

“You didn’t tell him?” 

“No, it doesn’t just come up in casual conversation, Makki-chan! Oh, Mattsun!” Matsukawa, a guy with dark curly hair and half lidded eyes, slips into the booth next to Oikawa. He nodded at Iwaizumi. 

“Potential love interest?” 

“That’s what they say.” 

“Nice. I’m Matsukawa Issei. Glad you're finally taking this annoying shithead off our hands,” Matsukawa said, nodding his head at Oikawa who gaped at him. 

“You’re all so mean! I didn’t do anything to deserve this! You’re all just jealous!” 

“Of what, Shittykawa?” 

“Iwa-chan!” 

“I’m kidding, calm down.” 

“You’re ruining my date by turning him against me! You two need to leave!” Oikawa turned to Matsukawa and tried shoving him out of the booth seat but all his friend did was laugh and push his hands away. 

“Ah, come on Tooru, we haven’t seen you in what? Four weeks? And this is how you welcome us back? What a good friend you are,” Hanamaki teased. He glanced at Iwaizumi. “Iwa, you don’t mind, right?” 

Iwaizumi shrugged. Of course he’d like to hang out one on one with Oikawa but if they hadn’t seen each other in 4 weeks then he was fine making his date into just a hangout session. 

“See, it’s fine. Oh Kyo, dear!” Matsukawa called out to the waitress. She looked up from her crossword puzzle and her face broke into a grin and she came over again. 

“Takahiro. Issei. My boys, how have you been?” She asked, pulling her little notebook out of her apron. Hanamaki leaned forward and rested his chin on his palm as his elbow sat on the table. Matsukawa leaned back with a lazy grin on his face. 

“We’re good. Just got back from Hawaii. Ever been?” Hanamaki asked and Kyo shook her head no. “A shame. You should convince old man Nekomata to bring you sometime. It’s lovely!” Hanamaki exclaimed, making the old woman laugh and pat his head affectionately. 

“Oh, I missed you boys. Now what can I get you two to eat? Heaven knows you need it, little twig of a thing you are, Takahiro. And you Issei, you’re so strong! And you have a new haircut, I almost didn’t recognize you,” Iwaizumi smiled as the old woman poked fun at them and he turned to face Oikawa who was watching him with half-lidded eyes and a small smile on his face. 

“What?” He mouthed, making Oikawa shrug and shake his head, the smile never leaving his lips. 

Hanamaki and Matsukawa ordered their food and turned back to them as Kyo walked away again. They smiled at each other as they noticed Oikawa’s face. 

“So, let’s talk about the rodeo. What’s going on in the Miyagi Circuit? Who can we look out for, for nationals this year? I need to figure out sponsorships after all,” Hanamaki said leaning back in his seat. Iwaizumi raised an eyebrow at him. 

“Sponsorships?” He asked and Makki nodded. 

“My dad has me in charge of figuring out Hanamaki Ranch sponsorships every year. And since I’ll be taking over in a few months I’m taking over all Rodeo deals he has too,” Iwaizumi nodded. He needed to figure out if Hanamaki was part of the same Hanamaki family that his dad used to business with. 

“Makki, is your dad's name Tadasu?” Iwaizumi asked, making all three of the other men sitting at the table with him look at him with wide eyes. 

“Uh, yeah? How’d you know that?” 

“Oh, my dad's name is Hayato Iwaizumi. I was brought to your family ranch a few times as a kid when our dads did business.” 

“Iwaizumi… wait? Your mom is Mai Iwaizumi? The best barrel racing trainer in all of Japan?” Iwaizumi’s cheeks flushed as Hanamaki spoke Oikawa’s eyes widened. “Holy shit, Oikawa. You’re only with this dude to get to his mom, aren’t you? Dude your mom is crazy good at what she does. You don’t know how many times my little sisters watched her training videos when we were younger, it was like, on constant repeat!” 

“I-I wouldn’t say she’s the best in all of Japan but she-” 

“No dude. My dad still gloats that he’s friends with THE Mai Iwaizumi when we have business dinners. Your mom was famous in her rodeo days!” 

“It’s not that big of a deal-” 

“Not a big deal! Iwa-chan! Your mom is part of the reason I’m a barrel racer today! Why didn’t I realize your mom was THE Mai Iwaizumi! God I’m so stupid!” Matsukawa was the only one who didn’t seem very phased by the sudden revelation. 

“Let's use our inside voices, you two. We don’t want to embarrass Iwaizumi anymore than we already have right? Obviously we’ll need to be introduced to the amazing Mai Iwaizumi. Hey, why don’t you invite your parents to one of the upcoming rodeos?” Oikawa nodded enthusiastically. 

“Yes! Iwa-chan you have to invite your mom! Maybe she’ll watch Cosmo and I! Do you think she’d do that? Maybe she’d ride Cosmo! Wouldn’t that be amazing, Makki-chan? Mattsun-chan?” Both his friends nodded in agreement and Iwaizumi waved his hands dismissively. 

“Yeah, yeah okay I’ll talk to my mom. Just shut up about it, people are looking at us, Shittykawa. Anyways, weren’t you asking about people you should keep an eye on for sponsorships? I suggest Tobio-” Oikawa lurched forward and planted his finger on Iwaizumi’s lips, successfully cutting him off. 

“No no, Iwa-chan. No Tobio-chan talk on our date. He ruined our last date and I refuse to let him ruin this one too,” Oikawa said, making Iwaizumi roll his eyes and lick Oikawa’s finger. Oikawa shrieked and pulled his hand away.

“Trust me, Iwaizumi. We’ve tried to get past Tooru to offer Kageyama a sponsorship but it hasn’t worked yet. Who else you think?” Hanamaki asked, glancing over at Kyo who was walking over holding a tray of drinks. 

“I forgot to bring your hot chocolates earlier, dears! So sorry!” She passed Oikawa and Iwaizumi their beverages and then set down an apple juice for Hanamaki and a coffee for Matsukawa. “I’ll be back with your food in a minute.” 

The four of them thanked her and went back to their conversation. 

“Kiyoko Shimizu. She’s the only female bronc rider in Miyagi,” Iwaizumi suggested and Oikawa nodded in agreement. Hanamaki pulled out his phone and typed in the name on his notes. “Oh, and what about Yachi Hitoka? She’s a barrel racer too.” 

Hanamaki nodded and tapped in the name. 

“I think that both Kunimi-chan and Kindaichi-chan would be good too! Both are bull riders!” Oikawa exclaimed. 

“I have down Yahaba Shigeru, Kyotani Kentarou, Kunimi Akira, Kindaichi Yuutarou, Watari Shinji, Yachi Hitoka, um, Kiyoko like you said, Iwaizumi, and then both of you,” Iwaizumi’s eyes widened when Hanamaki put his phone away. 

“Us?” 

“Well yeah, dummy. You’re my friends. Of course I’m going to sponsor you two,” Hanamaki said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. 

“You’ve known me for an hour?” 

“So? Any friend of Oikawa’s is a friend of mine. You’re stuck with us now,” Hanamaki said with a grin and Iwaizumi grinned back at him. 

“Get used to it, Iwaizumi. Once this brat makes up his mind, there's no going back. Same for this shit-head,” He nodded his head towards Hanamaki then Oikawa. 

Strangely, Iwaizumi didn’t find himself minding the fact that he now had two new friends. He was rather fond of the way they were able to tease Oikawa without feeling sudden remorse for whatever words were said to the dramatic brunet. 

“Here you go, dears.” A plate of crepes was sat down in front of Iwaizumi and his mouth started watering. He’d never actually had crepes before but they looked amazing. Oikawa was in a similar state when his french toast was set down and he immediately began pouring syrup over them. 

“What’d you two get?” Oikawa asked as he shoveled a bite into his mouth. 

“Shittykawa, don’t talk with a full mouth,” Iwaizumi scolded. 

“Iwa-chan? Are you my mom?” 

Hanamaki snorted loudly and Matsukawa coughed to hide his laugh but Iwaizumi ignored them, opting to grab one of the jam packets off the table to throw at Oikawa’s head. It hit him in the forehead and he stared at Iwaizumi with an open, food half chewed, mouth. 

Matsukawa reached over and shut his mouth for him before answering the question. “I got pancakes and Makki got, what was it? A stuffed omelette?” Hanamaki nodded enthusiastically as he shoved a forkful into his mouth. 

The four sat in silence as they ate, Kyo coming by every once in a while to see how they were doing and to refill their drinks. 

Eventually, when the place was empty enough, the big man himself, Nekomata Yasufumi, came out of the kitchen and pulled up a stool to their table. 

“Hey boys, how’re we doin’ today?” The old man asked and they all nodded as they chewed their food. Iwaizumi didn’t know him but the other three did. “Iwaizumi Hajime, was it? Great bull run the other night. How’s your ankle doing after it got clipped?” 

Iwaizumi swallowed and turned to look at the old man with wide eyes. “Huh? Oh! Thank you! My ankles alright, just a bit sore is all.”

Nekomata nodded in understanding. 

“I was a bull rider back in my younger years. What you do is real brave. But also real stupid. Anyways, let me ask you something, Hajime. Has this one beat me to the punch and offered you a sponsorship yet?” Nekomata asked, pointing a thumb at Hanamaki who grinned. 

“I sure have. This one is all mine,” Hanamaki grinned, patting Iwaizumi on the chest. Nekomata swore. 

“Damn. I thought I’d be the first. Shoulda came out as soon as I saw the kid walk in. Listen Hajime, you’re one of the top bull riders in Miyagi right now. Don’t be surprised when more sponsorship offers come your way. Of course, you can always turn him away and accept whoever you want,” Nekomata winked at him. 

“Ah, thank you, sir.” Nekomata nodded and crossed his arms. 

“Not a problem kid. Glad to see you young guys keepin’ things going out there in the arena. If I was a young buck like you, I'd show you who’s boss,” Iwaizumi laughed and nodded in agreement. 

“I’m sure you would. Do you come to the rodeo often?” 

“Oh, every once in a while. Gotta keep an eye on you guys. Sometimes Kuroo and Daichi convince me to come out to be a calf and steer wrangler. Haven’t done that in a while though. Listen, you ever need anything, you let me know. Alright, Hajime?” Iwaizumi nodded and thanked the man again. “Good, good. See you boys later. Behave.”

Nekomata stood and tucked his stool away and when Iwaizumi glanced at Oikawa, he was pouting. 

“What?”

“Iwa-chan is becoming so popular. I’m going to lose all my fans to you,” He said, making Iwaizumi roll his eyes. 

“You can keep your fans, I don’t want them.” 

They went back to eating their breakfast, another pleasant silence falling over them. Iwaizumi thought about what Nekomata said. 

_You’re one of the top bull riders in Miyagi right now._

How could that be when he’s only been there for 2 weeks? He’s only participated in 9 rodeos with them and he was already getting sponsorships from people he didn’t know. It honestly boggled his mind a little bit because he never got sponsorships in Hyogo. Taichi got one at the end of their career there and that’s why he moved on from the Hyogo circuit but Iwaizumi was never offered any.

“Hey, so what's this I hear about the ring of fire? Some team roping thing?” Matsukawa asked suddenly, startling both Oikawa and Iwaizumi. “I saw a poster in the bathroom.”

“Oh! Yeah, it’s a team roping event that Miyagi and Shiratorizawa are hosting together! Me and Iwa-chan are going to participate!” Oikawa said and Iwaizumi nodded. Matsukawa raised an eyebrow at them but shrugged. 

“Shiratorizawa? Yikes, Kawa. That means you’ll probably see Ushiwaka and his rag-tag team of assholes,” Hanamaki said and Oikawa slumped in his seat, pushing the remainder of his eggs around with his fork. 

“I already have. Twice.” 

“Twice? Did you talk to him?” Oikawa nodded and Hanamaki sighed. “Sorry, Tooru. You’re alright though, yeah?” 

“Yeah, Iwa-chan saved me the first time. The second time was when I was going to go take care of Cosmo after watching Iwa-chan’s run,” Oikawa said and Iwaizumi’s eyes widened. 

“You watch my runs?” 

“After I met you I started watching them. Do you watch mine?” Iwaizumi nodded. He was usually inside the bull chutes when Oikawa and Cosmo had their barrel runs but he always watched because their teamwork was amazing. 

“Well, thanks Iwa for saving our boy. Anyways, you’re gonna be a team? Oikawa, Cosmo is a barrel horse, not a roping horse.” Oikawa groaned. 

“I know, I already thought of that. I need to buy another horse in the next few days. And, Iwa-chan? What about you? You need a horse too, don’t you?” Iwaizumi shook his head no. 

“I got it covered. Kuroo and Bokuto should be back by the time we’re back from breakfast with him,” Iwaizumi explained and Oikawa’s eyes were wide. 

“You have a horse! And you didn’t tell me!” Iwaizumi shrugged and Matsukawa and Hanamaki laughed. 

“Most rodeo stars have horses, Oikawa. You should have figured. Anyways-” Matsukawa cut Hanamaki off. 

“MakkiMom and MakkiDad have a new trainer, Kawa. I’m sure if we uh, speak about some sponsorship agreements, we can get you a grade A roping horse,” Matsukawa said and Oikawa’s eyes sparkled. 

“Yes. I accept all terms and conditions having to do with the sponsorship, you know that Makki. When can I come to the ranch?” Hanamaki laughed. 

“Whenever you want, Kawa. I peeked at your rodeo schedule and next week is a free week right? Why don’t you come spend a few days at the ranch and we can get you set up with a horse? Iwaizumi, you come too and bring that mystery horse of yours and we can have you guys practice some roping in the arena,” Iwaizumi nodded in agreement. 

“Yeah, I’m down. Oikawa?” 

“Yes! Thank you Makki-chan! Thank you Mattsun-chan!” Iwaizumi smiled. Oikawa’s friends, now his friends too, were way to kind and caring for someone he just met. He guesses a lot of people are like that in Miyagi and he was just part of the wrong rodeo for the longest time. He’s glad he left Hyogo because there, he never had this. 

**━━━━━━━━━━━━━━**

Breakfast went on and eventually Hanamaki and Matsukawa had to take off to attend some important business for Hanamaki’s dad and Oikawa and Iwaizumi were left alone. They went back to the rodeo grounds, continuing their game of 20 questions. 

Iwaizumi learned that Oikawa had a childhood dog named Sprinkles that his sister named, that Oikawa’s mom and dad’s names are Eri and Taro, that he’s always wanted a kitten of his own, his favorite food is milk bread and that he wants to settle down after he’s finished rodeoing on a ranch somewhere near his family. 

Oikawa learned that Iwaizumi grew up around rodeos and was once crowned Prince of the rodeo at age 5 when his mother and father were crowned rodeo King and Queen. He also learned that Iwaizumi hates people who chew with their mouths open, the color purple, and that he wanted to go to college for medicine but decided against it when he got good at bull riding, opting for life as a rodeo star instead. 

They pulled into the rodeo grounds and Oikawa parked his truck next to his trailer. They both got out and Kuroo walked towards them holding a broken lead rope. 

“Dude, your horse is nuts.” 

“Zilla? No he’s not. Where is he?” Iwaizumi asked, taking the lead rope from Kuroo who pointed towards the small outdoor practice arena. Iwaizumi nodded. 

“Bokuto, Akaashi, and Daichi are over there right now. Bo has another lead so you don’t need to grab one. Good luck, dude.” Kuroo said and Iwaizumi laughed. 

“Thanks for picking him up for me, Kuroo. I owe you one,” Kuroo shouted back a ‘hell yeah you do’ as Iwaizumi and Oikawa walked towards the practice arena and Oikawa’s mouth dropped as he saw the stunning black and white appaloosa bobbing its head and prancing around the arena. 

“Zilla, boy. Calm down,” Iwaizumi called out, catching the horse's attention. The horse stood still, head held tall, staring straight at Iwaizumi as he approached. 

“That’s your horse? Iwa-chan! He’s stunning!” 

“Shh, thank you, Kawa. Go stand with Daichi and the others while I calm the monster down, alright?” Oikawa nodded and approached Daichi, Akaashi and Bokuto. 

“Did you know Iwaizumi’s mom is Mai Iwaizumi? The famous barrel racer?” Akaashi asked as Oikawa approached them. He nodded his head. 

“I found out today at breakfast. Did you meet her?” Akaashi nodded.

“How the hell does he think he’s gonna wrangle that horse? We’ve been here for a half hour watching it buck.” Daichi said as he leaned against the fence. Oikawa shrugged. 

Iwaizumi climbed over the fence and walked slowly towards Zilla who snorted and bobbed his head, ears perked all the way forward. A good sign. 

“Hey, Zilla. It’s me. Did you miss me?” Iwaizumi asked as he stepped closer. Zilla snorted again and lowered his head slightly. Iwaizumi held his hand out for the horse to smell and Zilla did, taking a long while to smell the palm of his hand before allowing Iwaizumi to rest his hand on the horse's nose. 

Iwaizumi worked his hand up Zilla’s nose to his double swirled forehead and he brought his other hand forward, rubbing over the horses eyes and down his cheeks. The horse stepped forward and bumped his head into Iwaizumi’ chest, making the man laugh and hug the horse's neck, petting him softly.

“Hey buddy… I missed you too,” Iwaizumi glanced at the four men standing by the fence and Bokuto had his mouth wide open in shock. 

“How the hell did you do that?” Bokuto asked. Iwaizumi shrugged and pulled away from Zilla. He approached the fence with Zilla following behind him closely. 

“He’s my horse. I’d like to introduce you guys to my roper, this is Zilla.” 

“Zilla,” Oikawa breathed out, cocking his head to the side to peer at the horse who was nibbling on Iwaizumi’s shirt. “He’s beautiful.” 

“He is. I’ve never seen an appaloosa that looks like Zilla. Where did you get him?” Akaashi asked, stepping away from the fence. Iwaizumi smiled. 

“My mom’s old barrel horse was bred with an appaloosa stallion when she retired from rodeoing to become a trainer. He was the outcome and she gifted him to me when I was 13,” Iwaizumi explained, rubbing his hand over Zilla’s cheek. 

Zilla, short for Godzilla, was the name Iwaizumi chose for him when the horse was born. It’d been a fitting name as the horse grew into a 17.1 hand tall horse. He was huge. Stocky and strong. Perfect for a roping horse. Zilla was hot-headed and ill tempered as a baby but quickly became a loyal and loving horse (to Iwaizumi) as he grew. 

When Iwaizumi chose bull riding over roping as his rodeo event, his bond with Zilla fell apart slowly. He’d left for the rodeo, only visiting home every once in a while during off seasons. But now, Iwaizumi was going to work hard again to salvage his relationship with the horse. And it seems like Zilla hadn’t forgotten about him like Iwaizumi had feared. 

“Well, Iwaizumi. You certainly are a surprising man, aren’t you?” Daichi said with a smile. “Alright. Let’s leave the man and his horse alone. Come on now everyone,” Daichi, Akaashi and Bokuto left the outdoor arena. 

“Do you think I can come in or…” Iwaizumi nodded and Oikawa crawled over the fence quickly, landing on his feet with a dull thud in the arena’s sand. “Can I touch him?” 

“Sure, go for it.” Oikawa reached forward and rested his hand on Zilla’s side. The horse jolted slightly but Iwaizumi quickly shushed him and Oikawa tried again, dragging his hand down the horse's neck. 

Zilla pulled his head away from Iwaizumi and smelled Oikawa’s shirt before turning away and closing his eyes. 

“I think he likes you, Shittykawa.” Iwaizumi said, making Oikawa laugh. 

“Of course he does. No horse hates me.”

______________________________________________________

Here is what I imagine all the horses that have been introduced so far look like <3 If I missed one, please let me know!

Iwaizumi's horse: [ Zilla (Godzilla) Iwaizumi's horse. ](https://www.google.com/search?q=black+and+white+appaloosa+horse&rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS724US728&tbm=isch&sxsrf=ALeKk02BqTwPMWGQfvBYB3l2CpT8HlytTw:1598554835926&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi1u5jpiLzrAhWDZM0KHReEB0cQ_AUI-QUoAQ&biw=1440&bih=753#imgrc=ITtJwG6G253c4M)

Oikawa’s horse, Cosmo: [ Cosmo ](https://www.google.com/search?q=palomino+horses&rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS724US728&sxsrf=ALeKk02F6SjoBvGlda8y8fYupnS-dldLLQ:1598555507118&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi73J6pi7zrAhXrAp0JHYO_AGsQ_AUoAXoECA8QAw&biw=1440&bih=753#imgrc=H8pCxB_7n8jcPM)

Kiyoko’s horse: [ Rico ](https://www.google.com/search?q=blue+roan+horse&sxsrf=ALeKk01DAjfUQtMoCmn_js7H1nRjuiKrYA:1598558825662&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjY49LXl7zrAhWIB50JHWXpBV4Q_AUoAXoECBQQAw&biw=1679&bih=868#imgrc=1oyCSPmw2KR00M)

Yachi’s horse: [ Arian ](https://www.google.com/search?q=grey+horse&sxsrf=ALeKk019JR6xD5PIJArASIj-e-6DTOW2xg:1598559048882&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwja94rCmLzrAhVEbs0KHRDnCncQ_AUoAXoECA4QAw&biw=1679&bih=868&dpr=2#imgrc=jqs9K8XcgMD3nM)

Daichi’s horse: [Ebony](https://www.google.com/search?q=black+mare&sxsrf=ALeKk02a8kKDCUSwwv4NR1SKirRdGZuwhw:1598559117911&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwijh4DjmLzrAhXaZc0KHYqgAPIQ_AUoAXoECBoQAw&biw=1679&bih=868#imgrc=7yNg10Qk5hssyM)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 6!  
> Please leave a kudos if you enjoyed! Or even a comment! I thrive off those <3
> 
> Umm umm okay so we got over 1000 hits and thats super cool so thank you guys <3   
> I LOVE YOU ALL! 
> 
> Until next time on, 
> 
> Of Bulls and Barrels


	7. Meeting the Iwaizumi's

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oikawa and Iwaizumi head to the Iwaizumi Family Ranch for the day and Oikawa not only meets his role model, but gets to ride her horse, date her son, and get her phone number.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this chapter is nice. I like it. 
> 
> NEXT TIME THO WE GET CHAOS.
> 
> Also, life update!!!  
> This weekend sucked.  
> My family had this big garage sale before a family birthday party and I ended up getting in a fight with one of my aunts over the dumbest thing and being screamed at. I cried. I hated it. 
> 
> But also, I came out as Bi to one of my aunts and thats one step closer to coming out to my parents.  
> Love you guys! <3

The next few days passed by in a blur. 

Hanamaki and Matsukawa showed up at the rodeo the day after they met Iwaizumi and were both impressed with his bull riding skills. Then they went around and offered sponsorships to the names they had on their list. 

Yachi turned it down because she was already offered a sponsorship from her mother's place of work. 

And Kiyoko turned it down because she already accepted Ukai’s offered sponsorship.

The terms and conditions of the sponsorship included 6 things. 

_Terms and Conditions of the Hanamaki (Seijoh) Ranch Sponsorship 2020_

_First of all, if you’re getting this letter, congratulations! Your skills have stuck out and caught the attention of the faculty and staff here at the Hanamaki (SEIJOH) Ranch. We look forward to working with you and your horse(s) as this year's rodeos commence._

_Here are a few things to keep in mind when accepting this sponsorship:_

  * _You will be given 5 long sleeve rodeo shirts. You may pick the colors and fit, but each shirt will have the Hanamaki (Seijoh) Ranch logo on the front pocket and back. You must wear one of these shirts during each rodeo to keep your sponsorship._


  * You will be given 3 t-shirts and 2 sweatshirts. All with the Hanamaki (Seijoh) Ranch logo on them. 


  * All of you who get this sponsorship are now a team. Keep close and become friends if you haven’t already. You’re working together in hopes to get to nationals. Although this is a competitive sport, there will be no rivalries between the seven of you.


  * If you own a horse, you will be gifted an official Seijoh halter for them along with a tag with their name on it. 


  * We will be hosting meetups and you will all be required to attend along with your horse if you have one. 


  * We’ll have dinners at the Hanamaki Ranch. More details later. 



_Congratulations again! We’re very excited to be working together now and we hope you are the same. If you have any questions please let us know._

_Best regards,_

_Hanamaki Tadasu_ _  
__Hanamaki Takahiro_

The sponsorship terms and conditions were easy enough and Iwaizumi didn’t have any complaints. He knew Hanamaki and Matsukawa were good guys and would help him out if he did have questions anyways. Plus Oikawa had told him that he’d accepted their sponsorship every year since he was 18 and he’s never had any problems. Iwaizumi trusted that. 

“Iwa-chan! Are you excited for this week?” Oikawa’s voice broke Iwaizumi out of his thoughts and he looked up from brushing Zilla in his pen. Oikawa was leaning against the fence and Iwaizumi nodded. 

“Yeah. I’m glad we have an off week so I can ride Zilla a bit.” 

“Well yeah, but are you excited to go spend a few days at the Hanamaki Ranch?” Iwaizumi almost forgot about that. But Oikawa had reminded him every day since Makki and Matsukawa had suggested it. 

“Yeah, are you excited? You’re going to get a new horse,” Iwaizumi stated and Oikawa nodded, entering the pen. He patted Zilla’s nose before rubbing his cheeks, cooing lovingly at the big horse. Zilla responded by blowing air out of his nostrils with half-lidded eyes. 

Iwaizumi was starting to think Oikawa was trying to steal his horse. 

“I’m excited. I’m worried Cosmo might think I’m trying to replace him,” Oikawa said, taking the brush from Iwaizumi’s hand to continue where he’d left off. Iwaizumi let him, stepping back to watch. 

“I’m sure Cosmo will be fine. Just don’t stop giving him attention. He seems like an attention seeker,” Oikawa snorted. 

“He is. Anyways, what are your plans for today?” Oikawa asked, turning, leaning against Zilla to look at Iwaizumi. Zilla looked back at Oikawa in confusion at the sudden weight on his side. 

“I was gonna run home and pick up some of Zilla’s stuff. Saddle, tack, favorite treats. The necessities, y’know?” Oikawa nodded, eyes sparkling and mouth turning up in a small smile. 

“Is… do you think I could go with you?” 

“You want to meet my mom, don’t you?” 

“I mean, obviously. But I also want to spend time with Iwa-chan!” Iwaizumi snorted but nodded, a small smile gracing his lips. 

“Yeah, of course. I was thinking we could head out at around 10? It’s about a 2 hour drive. Is that okay?” Oikawa nodded and handed the brush back to Iwaizumi. 

It was currently 9:24 a.m. on a Sunday. The Miyagi rodeo would have until the following Sunday as a free week to catch up on sleep, practice and life. Daichi was a good rodeo director, having taken over after the original director, Takeda Ittetsu, got married and had a baby. 

“Sounds good, Iwa-chan! I’ll stop by your trailer at 10 then!” Iwaizumi nodded and Oikawa left the pen. Iwaizumi went back to brushing Zilla. 

He’d kind of expected Oikawa to come along with him today so his mother already knew to add an extra plate to the table.

She’d been ecstatic when he’d told her about Oikawa, demanding to know more details of his personal life. The phone call last night had been excruciating for him. 

“Well Zilla. Anything you want me to pick up when I go home today?” Iwaizumi asked. Zilla bobbed his head sleepily and the man snorted, putting the brush away in his brush bin. “Alright buddy, I’ll see you tonight.” 

He grabbed the handle of the brush bin, patted Zilla on the nose one last time, and then headed towards his trailer to change into something not covered in horse hair. 

“Hey, Wazzy! Hey!” Iwaizumi glanced at Bokuto as he called his name and held up his hand in a wave. 

“What’s up, Bokuto?” 

“So you know how you said you owe Kuroo and I after we went and picked up your horse?” Iwaizumi nodded. “I’d like to cash in on that favor…” 

“Alright… walk with me to my trailer. You can talk while I get ready, alright?” Bokuto nodded and joined him. Iwaizumi dropped his bucket of brushes off in the back of his trailer and led Bokuto to the front door, opening it up and entering. Bokuto followed him in and shut the door, taking his hat off as he sat down on the couch. 

“What can I do for you, Bo?” Iwaizumi asked as he unbuckled his belt to untuck his shirt. Bokuto leaned back into the couch and tapped his foot. 

“Obviously um, your mom is Mai Iwaizumi,” Iwaizumi nodded. “And um, she’s a barrel racing trainer?” Iwaizumi nodded again. “I was wondering if maybe you could talk to her about Akaashi? He wants to give up on barrel racing because of his horse's injury. The vet… the vet said she had a torn tendon from her previous owners and that it’s likely she won’t heal from tearing it again. Plus there's a cyst and nerve damage and… yeah.” 

Iwaizumi didn’t know any of this. 

“Oh shit, I’m sorry Bokuto. Is Akaashi alright?” Bokuto nodded. “Yeah man, I’ll talk to my mom tonight when Oikawa and I go over there. I’ll um, I’ll give her your number and have her contact you and Akaashi or something, alright?” Bokuto nodded, eyes wide. 

“Thank you so much, Iwaizumi. You don’t- this means a lot to me. I don’t want Keiji to give up on what he loves,” Iwaizumi nodded in agreement. 

“I hear you, Bokuto. I got your back. And to be fair, you didn’t even need to cash in the favor, I'd have done this for you no matter what,” Iwaizumi said, making Bokuto’s mouth drop. “BUT you did use the favor, so no take backs.” 

Bokuto laughed but nodded. “Alright. Thanks again, Wazzy. I’ll let you get ready,” Bokuto stood up and left the trailer, leaving Iwaizumi alone with his thoughts.

Iwaizumi changed into a dark pair of nice jeans, a nicer flannel shirt, his nice boots and his black hat then he sat down on the couch, thinking over what Bokuto told him. Iwaizumi has seen Akaashi spending a lot of time with his horse, usually soaking her hoof in a bucket of ice water. A cyst without being caught early can cause a horse to go lame. And at this rate, Akaashi must have found out too late meaning that his horse was either already lame or about to be. 

He’s watched a lot of horses come and go from living on a ranch and he knows how hard it is every time. It’s a part of life, a shitty part, but still a part and it sucks. But sometimes you just need to accept it and move on. You can’t dwell on the past for too long or it’ll start hindering the future. Akaashi was going to hurt his future as a barrel racer if he gave up. Iwaizumi, as a friend, couldn’t sit by and watch that happen if he had any way of preventing it. 

“Knock knock, I know I’m early. Whatcha doing, Iwa-chan?” Oikawa’s head popped into the trailer and Iwaizumi glanced at the clock, 9:48 a.m.

“Hey, Shittykawa. Come on in. I just need to brush my teeth and we can head out,” Oikawa nodded and entered the trailer, taking Iwaizumi’s spot on the couch as he stood up and walked to the bathroom. “Hey, did you know that Akaashi’s horse has a cyst? And is going lame?” 

Oikawa cocked his head to the side, staring at Iwaizumi as he put toothpaste on his toothbrush. “How’d you hear about that?” 

“Bokuto caught me on my way back to the trailer and told me. Asked me to talk to my mom and see if she’d talk to Akaashi. Said he doesn’t wanna see Akaashi give up and… honestly, if it were you, I wouldn’t want to see you give up either.” 

“Aw, Iwa-chan. You care about me!” Iwaizumi blushed as he brushed his teeth aggressively. He glared at Oikawa and turned away. “That’s sweet, Iwa-chan! I wouldn’t want to see you give up on something you’re passionate about either! But yes. I knew Marina was hurt. When our first date was interrupted, the next day I went to take care of Cosmo and Bokuto was checking on her. He told me to talk to Akaashi too but I don’t think I was much help…” Oikawa sounded defeated when he said that. 

Iwaizumi spit his toothpaste into the sink. “Why?” 

“Hm?” 

“Why don’t you think you were much help?” Iwaizumi rinsed off his toothbrush and set it down, walking back into the main area. Oikawa shrugged. 

“Akaashi just seemed like he’d made up his mind already when we talked. He listened to me, but he didn’t seem very… into the conversation. Y’know? He seemed like he was in a different headspace and I have no idea what he’s going through personally because I think Marina has been his only horse for as long as he’s ridden and… I think if it was Cosmo I’d… I don’t know,” Iwaizumi nodded in understanding. 

“No it’s alright, I get it. We’ll sit down with my mom and talk with her about things tonight, alright? You can tell her what you know and it’ll be good. Why don’t we head out?” Oikawa nodded and Iwaizumi stretched his hand out for Oikawa to take. Oikawa grinned and took it, letting Iwaizumi hoist him up. 

They didn’t let go of each other's hands as they exited the trailer or walked to Iwaizumi’s truck, only parting when they had to get into the vehicle. Oikawa slid into the passenger seat with ease, taking his tan cowboy hat off and tossing it into the backseat. Iwaizumi followed suit and took his own off, setting his hat on the backseat instead of tossing it. 

“So you said it’s about a two hour drive, right? What should we talk about Iwa-chan? Oh! How about we spill our dirty secrets!” 

“I don’t have any dirty secrets.” 

“I’m sure you do.” 

“I don’t.” 

“I’ll ask your mom.”

“Get out of my truck, Shittykawa.” 

“No! Iwa-chan!”

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

The two hour car ride did include a fair amount of secret sharing, much to Iwaizumi’s dismay. Oikawa learned that when Iwaizumi was younger, he used to play in the pasture and make ‘poop stew’ in buckets. Which, obviously, included horse manure, grass, water, wild berries, some of his mom's vegetables from the garden, and bugs mixed with a stick. 

In turn, Iwaizumi learned that Oikawa used to be absolutely terrified of cows. To the point that when he’d see one, he’d burst into tears and not stop until he couldn’t see it anymore. Iwaizumi also learned that Oikawa was only scared of cows because when he was little a baby cow tried to ‘eat his hand’ when in reality it was probably just suckling on his fingers looking for milk.

They’d also ended up planning another date. To a horse and tack auction. Apparently Hanamaki’s father owned the auction house and it was cruelty free, meaning that no horses were sold for butcher and all buyers had to have a thorough background check before the horse was allowed to be sent home with them. A grueling process but in the end, very worth it. Oikawa claimed that he, Hanamaki and Matsukawa used to work there on the weekends during Junior and Senior High and it was a big part of how he learned to love horses and appreciate them so much. 

“Seeing those horses was heartbreaking, Iwa-chan. It’s so sad to see so many animals without someone to love them and care for them. I used to want to run a horse shelter. Own a big barn and huge pasture space and buy as many horses as I can from auctions before turning them around and selling them to people who will love them. That’s why so many horses end up going for slaughter. Did you know that? Because people see them in the ring and they can’t be ridden or because they're too spookish and suddenly people think they aren’t worth it.” 

Iwaizumi glanced over at Oikawa as he spoke. He smiled and nodded. 

“I think that’s great, Oikawa. You’re a good person.” 

“I… I just know that Cosmo was once a horse in one of those auction arena’s and I really can’t imagine what my life would be like without him and I hate to think that if it wasn’t for the Hanamaki’s that he’d probably be dead right now.” 

“And did you give up on that dream? Of opening a horse shelter? You’re what? Twenty-one right now? You can still make it happen if that’s something you really want. I’ll even help you because I think that’s amazing,” Iwaizumi said and Oikawa turned to look at him with wide eyes and a quivering bottom lip. “Hey, woah! Are you crying?” 

“What? No! Of course not! I just- you don’t think it’s stupid?” 

“No, absolutely not. You’re a passionate person and that’s a rare quality only a few people have. I admire you,” Iwaizumi said as he turned down a dirt road. Then again at a driveway with a large ranch arch sign over it. 

Oikawa looked up to admire the ranch sign. It was pretty. Big letters spelling out **‘ROCKY BANKS RANCH’** on the top and in smaller letters underneath it, **‘Iwaizumi Family Farm’**. 

“Big sign. Rocky Banks Ranch?” Oikawa asked and Iwaizumi nodded. 

“Dad inherited the ranch from his uncle who named it that. Never bothered changing it because it’s a known name now.” 

“Huh, that’s cool. Iwa-chan, if we owned a ranch what would we call it?” Iwaizumi flushed at the idea of owning something with Oikawa. 

“Um, owning a ranch? Together?” 

“Mhm!” 

“Uh, I dunno. Something cool. Not Rocky Banks Ranch, that's for sure,” Oikawa giggled and nodded in agreement. “Anyways, Shittykawa. We’re here.” They pulled into a large gravel parking lot. On the right was the house, a large 2-story house with an old yellow lab dog laying on the porch. There were a few barn cats playing together in the gravel that got up and ran away when the truck pulled in and on the left was a large outdoor arena with barrels lined up for a barrel run. Then there was a big red barn with wide open barn doors and Oikawa could see the line of stalls inside. 

“Out behind the barn is a pasture area too. Most of the horses are probably out there but if you want I can introduce you to my moms retired barrel horse,” Iwaizumi said and Oikawa nodded eagerly. 

“Zilla’s mom?! I get to meet Zilla’s mom? And Iwa-chan’s mom! Oh god, oh my god. That’s so cool how you and your mom own mother-son horses too!” Iwaizumi laughed and put the truck in park in front of the house. The old dog stood up and started yowling as both men stepped out of the vehicle. 

“Boomer, boy. Calm down,” Iwaizumi said as his father stepped out of the house. Hayato Iwaizumi was a tall man. His hair was lighter than his sons and his eyes were a chocolatey brown. He had a grin on his face as he saw the two younger men and he stepped off the porch, approaching his son for a hug. 

“Hajime! It’s been a while!” Hayato said slapping Iwaizumi on the back as they hugged. Oikawa watched as the younger's face contorted in pain at each slap and he held his fist to his mouth, suppressing a laugh. Hayato didn’t let it go unnoticed though, turning to Oikawa with a smile once he released Iwaizumi from his grasp. “You must be the infamous Oikawa Tooru. Hajime’s spoken about you on the phone. It’s nice to finally meet the man that’s caught his attention!” Hayato said, reaching to shake Oikawa’s hand. 

This, Oikawa noted, was an important factor in meeting his future boyfriend's parents. A firm handshake meant everything to men. He needed to impress. 

“It’s nice to meet you Iwaizumi-san,” Oikawa grabbed the man's hand and shook it with a smile. Hayato turned to Iwaizumi with a smile as they dropped their handshake. 

“Good grip you got there. Please, call me Hayato. My wife, Mai, is inside making lunch for us. Why don't you give him the grand tour of the place, Hajime? I’ll ring the bell when your mom is done,” Iwaizumi nodded. Oikawa smiled one last time at Hayato before the man went back inside. 

“Your dad is nice,” Oikawa said as Iwaizumi reached out his hand for Oikawa to hold. Oikawa locked his fingers with Iwaizumi’s and he let himself be led towards the big red barn.

“Yeah, he’s alright. Don’t uh, if he says anything that makes you uncomfortable just tell him. Or me. Like when he said you caught my interest and whatever…” 

“Oh, you're so cute, Iwa-chan! Or can I call you Hajime?” 

“No. Stop that,” Iwaizumi’s entire face erupted in a blush and Oikawa laughed, poking at his cheek as they entered the barn. 

“Fine fine, Iwa-chan can stay,” Oikawa grew silent as they walked further into the barn. Most of the first few stalls were empty, except for two. One had a mare with a foal in it, both sleeping soundly in a pile of shavings and hay. And the other an old grumpy looking horse. 

“This is the barn, I guess. The mare with the foal is called Ruby. Her baby is called Princess because she’s the only palomino baby that’s ever been born here before and she’s spoiled rotten. Um, here’s my dad's old retired horse Cisco,” Iwaizumi pointed out each horse. Ruby and Cisco were both buckskin’s and of course Princess was a darling little palomino. Oikawa cooed at her, watching as her eyes fluttered as she slept. 

“She’s lovely.” He said, making Iwaizumi nod. 

“She almost didn’t make it. There were some complications with her birth. She was actually a twin but she was the only one that made it, the other foal was a colt and he died before even making it out,” Iwaizumi explained and Oikawa frowned. It’s sad, but it’s part of life. It happens to humans too. Everyone loses babies sometimes, and it’s just as heartbreaking for animals. 

“How old is she?” Oikawa asked. 

“She’s 5 weeks old. She was born right before I transferred to Miyagi. I was actually the one who pulled her out.” 

“Wow Iwa-chan. How many babies have you helped be birthed? And… did you wear gloves?” Oikawa asked, suddenly looking down warily at the hand he was holding. Iwaizumi gripped his hand tighter. 

“You scared of a little afterbirth? Come on, Shittykawa. You do rodeo. You’re around horse shit all the time, afterbirth is nothing.” Iwaizumi said, making Oikawa’s face scrunch in disgust. 

“Sure, Iwa-chan. Whatever you say, Iwa-chan.” 

“Anyways, this is my mom's current barrel horse. Oikawa, meet Ghost.” Oikawa’s mouth fell open and they dropped each other's hands when they approached the horse. [ Ghost ](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/159807486751968533/) was a lean, absolutely stunning grulla quarter horse. “Ghost, this is Oikawa. He’s a big barrel racer from where I’m from,” Iwaizumi said to the horse. Ghost swished his tail, swatting away some flies before walking towards the stall door, reaching his neck out. Ghost nibbled at Oikawa’s palm as he held it forward and Iwaizumi smiled, leaning against the stall. 

“Ghost and my mom have been racing together for 4 years now I think? I’d like to see you get on him,” Oikawa shook his head. 

“Oh no. No no, your mom probably has him trained for record breaking speeds and-” 

“Oikawa, you literally are almost at record breaking speeds. Calm down, it was just a suggestion, dumbass. Don’t get so worked up,” Oikawa glared at him. 

“Iwa-chan! Mean!” Iwaizumi rolled his eyes. 

“Come on, let's go meet Zilla’s mom.” Oikawa patted Ghost on the nose as a goodbye and he excitedly took Iwaizumi’s hand again, this time pulling Iwaizumi further into the barn instead of being pulled. 

“Where is she? I want to see the beauty that created your monster!” Iwaizumi gasped and tugged his hand away. 

“Excuse me?”

“I mean, I’d like to meet the creator of your darling little Zilla. Not at all a giant monster.” Iwaizumi huffed in annoyance but led Oikawa back to a row of slightly bigger stalls. 

“This is-” 

“Gypsy…” Oikawa breathed, faltering at the front of the stall. Inside was a pretty dun mare. She looked up at the call of her name and Iwaizumi nodded. 

“Yeah. How’d you know?” Oikawa waved Iwaizumi off, reaching his hand into the stall for Gypsy to smell. She leaned forward and nibbled at his fingers before full on licking his hand. He laughed and let her. 

“Hanamaki wasn’t lying, you know. His little sisters always watched her videos. The Mai Iwaizumi and Gypsy Tyree are a well known duo in that household. Hanamaki’s sisters would die if they knew I was the soon to be boyfriend of her son,” Both men froze at Oikawa’s words. 

“Soon to be boyfriend?” Iwaizumi asked and Oikawa pulled his hand away from Gypsy. He wiped it on his jeans before waving his hands in front of him desperately. 

“I just meant that- we’ve been- dates! And-” 

“Oikawa, do you want to be my boyfriend?” Iwaizumi asked and Oikawa straightened out. 

“Obviously, Iwa-chan. That’s why I’ve been going on dates with you?” 

“No- shit. Oikawa Tooru. _Will_ you be my boyfriend?” Oikawa’s mouth formed an O as he realized what Iwaizumi was asking and he nodded, pulling his new boyfriend into a hug. 

“Yes, god. Fuck.”

“Real eloquently spoken, Shittykawa.” Oikawa whacked Iwaizumi in the arm and they pulled away from each other as the dinner bell on the porch started ringing. Iwaizumi heard his father calling for them and he took Oikawa’s hand. “Ready to meet my mom?” 

“Can I introduce myself as her future son-in-law?” Oikawa asked teasingly. Iwaizumi rolled his eyes as they started walking. 

“Getting ahead of yourself a bit, aren't you?”

“It was worth a shot. Can I at least say I’m your boyfriend? Or better yet! You introduce me as your boyfriend!” Iwaizumi scoffed. 

“I already planned on it, dumbass. Come on, mom doesn’t like to wait when there’s food on the table,” Oikawa nodded and they hurried hand-in-hand out of the barn and towards the house. Hayato was waiting on the porch with the dog and he winked at them when he noticed them holding hands. 

“Come on in boys, Ma is waiting. She made agedashi tofu just for you, Hajime!” Oikawa’s eyes sparkled. 

“Is that his favorite food?” Hayato nodded proudly and clapped him on the back as they climbed up the front steps. 

“Sure is. Come on in, Oikawa-” 

“Oh, please! Call me Tooru,” Hayato nodded. 

“Come on in, Tooru. After lunch I’ll convince Mai to pull out the baby books!” Iwaizumi groaned but followed his new boyfriend and his father into the house, listening to their very loud and cheerful conversation about how Iwaizumi was just the cutest and chubbiest baby. 

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Before Oikawa was introduced to Mai Iwaizumi, he was terrified. 

Mai Iwaizumi had been a role model of his since he was in junior high and now he was dating her son. What is she didn’t like him? Thought he was too cocky? Maybe she wanted her son to settle down with someone outside of the rodeo and she just wouldn’t approve of him. 

What is Iwaizumi broke up with him because his mom asked him to. 

So many things were racing through his mind as he entered the house. 

But, thankfully, Mai Iwaizumi was nothing short of being an angel. 

She was a shorter woman with shoulder length, wavy dark brown hair. Her eyes were a startling green, almost as pretty as Iwaizumi’s, and she had an aura that made Oikawa want to trust this woman with his life. Which he did already. 

“Oikawa Tooru, was it? Such a pleasure to finally meet you! Hajime’s been babbling on for weeks now about this pretty barrel racer he met and I’m so glad to finally meet you!” Mai pulled him into a hug when he entered the kitchen. Iwaizumi groaned behind him. 

“Mom, knock it off. Don’t scare him,” Iwaizumi said, pulling Oikawa away from his mother. Mai whined and smacked his arm. 

“Shut it, Hajime. Tooru, do you mind if I call you Tooru?” Oikawa shook his head no. “Tooru, call me Mai. Come now, sit down! I made agedashi tofu! Is that okay, Tooru? If you don’t like it I can get you something else,” Mai said, placing her hands on Oikawa’s shoulders, pushing him towards the dining room. Oikawa shook his head as he was sat down at a plate. 

“No no, this is great! Thank you.” Oikawa beamed up at her and she clapped, sitting down next to him. 

“Mom, we need to wash our hands… Gyspy was all over him so don’t force feed him yet,” Iwaizumi said making Mai gasp. 

“Oh shoot, I’m sorry Tooru! You boys go wash up and join us when you’re done!” Oikawa stood and followed Iwaizumi to the bathroom where the older man sighed and shook his head. 

“I’m sorry about her. I haven’t brought anyone home to meet them since I was in high school and I think she’s just a bit over excited,” Oikawa smiled and washed his hands in the sink. 

“It’s alright. It’s sweet. Your parents really love you, huh?” 

“I guess so. Please just let me know if they’re being overbearing or anything cause-” 

“Iwa-chan, calm down. It’s okay. Just wait until you meet my family! Now come on! Wash up! Your mom and dad are waiting for us~” Oikawa dried his hands off before turning and patting Iwaizumi on the bicep. He then winked and disappeared out the door and back towards the dining room. 

“Oh, Mai, this smells absolutely amazing! I can’t wait to try it!” Oikawa praised as he sat down next to Iwaizumi’s mother again. Hayato was sitting at the table now too. 

“She makes the best agedashi tofu. Hajime used to hate it when he was little and now it’s his favorite. Funny how that works, isn’t it?” Hayato asked and Oikawa nodded, smiling at him. 

“It is. Iwa-chan always eats so much when we go out on our dates! I feel like he’s always munching on something but now I’ll need this recipe so I can woo him with cooking!” Mai laughed and nodded. 

“Of course! Why don’t we exchange numbers after lunch so I can text it to you?” Oikawa nodded excitedly. 

“Sure!” 

“Alright, enough conspiring, Shittykawa. I’m starving. Can we eat?” Hayato rolled his eyes at his son as he sat down. 

“So brash, Hajime. Alright, let’s eat.” 

Lunch went by quickly, the four of them talking casually about how things at the rodeo were and how the two met. Mai wasn’t very impressed with how her son asked Oikawa to be his boyfriend but Oikawa told her that their first date was romantic enough to cover being asked to be his boyfriend in a barn. Mai also wasn’t impressed by the fact that Iwaizumi called Oikawa bitchy and rude just because he was a barrel racer. Hayato on the other hand, found it absolutely hilarious that Oikawa told his son he probably had a small dick. 

“Anyways mom, dad. Thank you for lunch. But Oikawa and I should get Zilla’s stuff and get back on the road. We need to get back so we can pack,” Iwaizumi said as he helped his mom carry the dirty dishes from the table to the sink. 

“What? Where are you going? I thought I’d at least get Tooru on Ghost first!” 

“Yeah, Iwa-chan! Wait, what?” Oikawa turned to Mai with wide eyes. “I don’t think thats a good idea.” 

“Actually y’know what. I’d love to see _Tooru_ on Ghost. Come on, Shittykawa. Put on your big boy shoes and lets go saddle him up,” Iwaizumi smirked and Oikawa shook his head, desperately trying to avoid it. 

“We should really get going. It was nice meeting you! Iwa-chan, I’ll be in the truck!” Oikawa said and Mai clicked her tongue disapprovingly. 

“Hayato, dear. Mind washing up the dishes while we go out to the arena?” 

“Not at all. Have fun, Tooru. Mai, Hajime. Don’t kill the boy, I like him,” The mother-son duo smiled innocently and Oikawa found himself being guided to the barn. 

It wasn’t that he was scared. Okay, maybe he was a little bit. But not of getting on Ghost. He was mostly scared of having a terrible run and embarrassing himself in front of his barrel racing idol and her idiot son. He was also slightly terrified because he’d never actually rode a horse that wasn’t Cosmo. What if Cosmo found out and got jealous? I mean, he’d have to get over it eventually because Oikawa was about to be the proud father of another horse in a day or two. 

_It’s okay Tooru. You got this. You can do it. It’s basically just another Cosmo that was trained by a professional barrel racer. You can get on this horse and have an amazing run. I believe in you._

Oikawa nodded to himself as Mai clipped a lead rope to Ghost’s halter. She opened up the stall and lead him out and that was the moment Oikawa felt tiny. Ghost was tall and lean, almost as tall as Zilla. He’d never ridden a horse over 16 hands before. 

“Oh shit, he’s big,” Oikawa said as Mai handed him the lead. He tied the big horse to the hitching rail and Mai got started brushing him. He was saddled a few minutes later and Oikawa was leading him towards the outdoor arena with a pale face. 

“You good, Kawa?” Iwaizumi asked, resting his hand on Oikawa’s shoulder. Oikawa nodded and Iwaizumi nodded back unsurely. “Alright. You don’t have to do this if you don’t want.” 

“No no, I do it’s just-” 

“He’s not Cosmo?” Oikawa nodded. “I get it. You’ll do great. Ghost is an amazing horse.” Oikawa nodded again and sighed, pulling the reins over Ghost’s head. 

“Give me a boost?” Oikawa asked, hoisting left foot into the stirrup. Iwaizumi nodded and made a little bucket with his hand, crouching down for Oikawa to step onto. He helped boost Oikawa onto the horse, watching him catch his balance as Ghost walked forward suddenly at the weight on his back. 

“Just remember, this probably feels foreign to both of you. Why don’t you do a few loping laps around the arena? Start in a walk, then trot, then lope,” Mai instructed and Oikawa nodded, urging Ghost forward with a gentle tap from the heel of his boot.

Oikawa quickly got a read of Ghost’s personality. He was more reserved than Cosmo, less show offish. Ghost was slower at getting into a trot than Cosmo was and even slowler at getting into a lope. But his movements were far less jerky than Cosmo’s were, which made Oikawa praise the big horse with a nice pat on the neck. 

“Alright Ghost-chan. We don’t know each other well but let’s kick these barrels asses, alright?” Ghost snorted as Oikawa slowed him back to a trot. 

“Perfect, Tooru! Line up at the gate and when I call it, go. Alright?” Oikawa nodded at Mai and he and Ghost trotted over to the gate where Iwaizumi was standing. Ghost seemed to know what was happening and he got antsy, not wanting to stay still. Mai held up her timer and counted with her fingers as she called out a countdown from 5. 

“Five,” Oikawa patted Ghost’s neck. 

“Four,” He gripped the horn of the saddle tightly. 

“Three,” He heard Iwaizumi wish him luck. 

“Two! One!” Ghost was fast. Taking off right as Oikawa spurred him into motion with the heel of his boot. He took around the first barrel a little sharp and almost made Oikawa knock his boot into it. The second barrel did topple over when they went by and the last barrel was the best. They made it back to the gate in a little over 16 seconds and Iwaizumi was grinning at him. 

“Nice job, Shittykawa,” He praised, catching Ghost by the reins and holding him still. Oikawa shrugged. 

“What was the time on it?” 

“16.21. Good run on a horse your not familiar with. You want a few more goes?” Oikawa smiled and patted Ghost’s neck. 

“Would that be okay?” 

“Absolutely! Come on, go again!” 

Oikawa ended up running barrels a total of 15 times, each score getting progressively better and he stopped knocking barrels down. Ghost was a fantastic barrel horse and Iwaizumi learned that Oikawa was eve more of a fantastic barrel racer than he originally thought.

But things did have to come to an end and they needed to get back to Miyagi so they could pack for the Hanamaki ranch. And as much as Iwaizumi loved to see the big grin on Oikawa’s face after every run and how well he and his mom got along, he’d have to be the one to end things if he wanted to get out of there because Oikawa had gotten comfortable with Ghost and Mai and they were having a good time. 

“Really. I think it’s time to head out. I need to get some stuff loaded into the truck for Zilla so mom, help him with Ghost and Oikawa, talk to her about the Akaashi situation, would you?” Oikawa slid off of Ghost and landed on the ground with a thud. He nodded and Iwaizumi nodded back before turning to go into the barn. 

“Akaashi stuff?” Mai asked as she took the reins from Oikawa. 

“We have a friend… His name is Akaashi Keiji, he’s a barrel racer like me. He found out recently that his horse has a cyst and nerve damage and has gone lame so he can’t barrel race on her anymore and he wants to give up because he’s never ridden a horse that wasn’t her,” Mai nodded as she listened. They walked slow towards the barn. 

“I see. You know, I just had a client with a similar situation. Her horse was old and needed to be retired and she wasn’t quite comfortable getting on a new barrel horse quite yet. Bonds between a horse and their rider are sacred but you can have close bonds with more than one horse and I think some people get attached so easily to one creature that they forget that they’re allowed to love another animal.” Oikawa nodded. Mai stopped in her tracks and turned towards him. 

“Listen, Tooru. You were scared to get on Ghost today because he’s not your horse, right?” Oikawa nodded. “It’s an adjustment and you need to be willing to create bonds and learn the personality of new horses. I could tell you got a pretty good read on Ghost while you were in the process of getting him into a lope and thats a strong strength of yours. Being able to get a feel for foreign horses. Why don’t you convince Hajime to stay here for your break this winter and I’ll teach you a thing or two? Huh?” Oikawa smiled and nodded. 

“Thank you, Mai. This means a lot to me… but-” 

“Back to your friend. I’d like to meet him. So whenever you have a rodeo next, I’ll come. I’ll meet him. I’ll talk to him. Oh, and let’s exchange numbers before you leave alright? You can give me his too so I can call him up and have a quick chat. Now, why don’t you go find Hajime while I take care of Mr. Ghost here,” Mai smiled kindly at him and Oikawa nodded turning to go meet Iwaizumi who was carrying a saddle towards his pickup. 

Iwaizumi smiled at him as he hoisted the saddle into the bed of his truck. “All done over there?” He asked. 

“Your mom says we should come stay during the winter break,” Oikawa said rocking back and forth on his feet. “Oh, and she’s going to come to our next rodeo so she can meet Akaashi.” 

“Oh, that’s great.” 

“Mhm, sure is Iwa-chan! I really like your mom,” Oikawa said. Iwaizumi smiled and pulled him into a hug. He rested his chin on Oikawa’s shoulder and Oikawa leaned his head against Iwaizumi’s wrapping his arms around him tight. 

“I’m glad. Now come on, we need to get going. I have most of the stuff I need.” 

Oikawa nodded as they pulled away from each other. Iwaizumi Hajime was a god send in his life and he could only hope he’d become as important to the bull rider as Iwaizumi had become to him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Consider leaving a kudos? or a comment?? I love you all! 
> 
> Until next time on,  
> Of Bulls and Barrels.

**Author's Note:**

> I'll don't have a set update schedule right now, but I will most likely be updating once or twice a week! 
> 
> If you enjoy, please leave a Kudos or maybe even comment?  
> Thanks! Until next time on,
> 
> Of Bulls and Barrels


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